Review of Searching (2018) by Reuben M — 05 Nov 2018

The premise of the film is simple. Widower John Cho has had trouble connecting with his teen-age daughter, yet doesn't realize how out of touch with her day-to-day life he's become. And one day, she disappears suddenly, and foul play is suspected. He works hard to solve the mystery himself, and collaborates with a police detective (Debra Messing), uncovering some dark secrets in the meantime.

The gimmick with this film is that the entire story is told through a computer screen. Facebook pages, you tube videos, emails and messages, old videos stored on hard drives, etc. Lots of video chatting. (The movies UNFRIENDED and UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB used the same device.) It's a low-budget let surprisingly effective and immediate story-telling device. We share with the father a sense of discovery. We learn as he learns. He doesn't know things we don't know...nor do we know what HE doesn't. It's fun, but on occasion, the credibility of this is stretched pretty thin...and when dad has to step out of his house, we still keep up with him because he is the subject of news reports that we get to watch. So yes, the device is clever but often strained.

What really works well in the film is the convincing work by star John Cho. He's come a long way from his HAROLD AND KUMAR days, and gives a well-rounded portrait of a smart man, crushed by grief and now confounded by how little he really knows his daughter. (He finds out, for example, that she has stopped going to her once beloved music lessons...but has kept the money and said nothing to her dad.) His convincing work makes us look past the confining story-telling device, and pulls us into the emotion of the story. He makes SEARCHING more than just a clever story...it has a real emotional impact.

There's a real mystery here, and it takes a couple of pretty cool turns. I found myself surprised a couple of times, EVEN as I then berated myself for not having "seen it coming." But hindsight is always 20/20...I liked being surprised.

Somehow, this movie didn't garner a huge audience in the theaters, even though it is vastly superior to others of its ilk. It truly has some pulse-pounding moments, a reasonably intelligent script and a very solid central performance. I highly recommend you seek it out and enjoy the ride.