Saturday, September 1, 2018

Searching (2018, PG-13)


I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this movie, whether or not its central conceit would work as more than a gimmick.  Still, I wasn’t about to turn down an actual #StarringJohnCho, so when the film came to my local cinema with its wide release, I grabbed the first showing I could.

When his teenager daughter Margot goes missing, David is frantic to find answers to her disappearance in any way he can.  Without much direction or any other recourse, David turns to Margot’s laptop, scouring her social media, texts, and search history for clues, and he’s hit with the dawning realization that he doesn’t know his daughter as well as he thought he did, as her online presence reveals an entirely different side to Margot.

The “hook” with this film is that it takes place entirely on laptop screens:  linked Facetime calls and texts, home videos on the hard drive, uploaded videos on various platforms, Facebook and Tumblr posts, emails, tweets, Google searches, and whatnot.  As I said, I wasn’t sure what the overall effect would be, and for the most part, I’d say it works.  There are some stretches here and there – I feel like David Facetimes people way more than the average person, and I think it’d make sense to change things up and have a phone or other smart device as our “window” into the scene on occasion, instead of having everything on laptops – but the technique is surprisingly cinematic.  The clicks and open tabs don’t get in the way of the tension/suspense of the mystery at all.

It’s a neat way to follow along on David’s increasingly-desperate quest to figure out what happened to Margot, and as her disappearance becomes part of the news cycle (as well as a hashtag,) we’re also treated to the way the media handles real-life mysteries like this.  Additionally, keeping the film centered on David’s search gives it an isolating feel.  Despite the presence of various people calling David to offer support or help (including the detective working on Margot’s case,) we only see them in situations where they’re removed, separated from David on the other side of a screen.

Given how it’s put together, it’s a very sort of different film for the cast as well.  For the most part, all the actors speak directly to the screen, be it for Facetime calls, uploaded streams, or home movies (although those at least tend to have the benefit of more than one actor in the same room.)  But the script and the actors are still able to bring their characters and the relationships between them to bear.  In addition to John Cho’s solid leading performance as David, the movie features relative newcomer Michelle La as Margot and Debra Messing as Detective Vick.

Warnings

Thematic elements, language, brief violence, drug references, and sexual references.

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