Have you ever seen one of those movies that just makes you want to burst with emotions, and at the same time, it keeps you glued to your screen because you really want to know what happens next? That was what SEARCHING did to me. Like, I thought it was just a normal missing person mystery, but what I got was beyond that. The movie was released in 2018, starring John Cho and Debra Messing. It’s a mystery thriller, so I’m going to make sure to keep the review spoiler-free, so I don’t ruin the surprise in case you want to watch it.
The entire story is told through laptop screens, video calls, social media, emails, FaceTime conversations, and other digital devices. Yeah, it’s a type of movie where all the story unfolds through the screens, and it works perfectly. Normally, you’ll think it’s going to be boring because everything in the movie was shown through screens. Although I’ve seen movies like that, one of them is “MISSING”. I’ve made a review about it here too. So, I don’t see Searching as a new concept, but the only thing is that it takes the idea much farther than expected.
This movie is all about a father named David Kim and his teenage daughter, Margot. David’s daughter went missing suddenly. Before the incident, she had already told her father that she was going for a group study, but that day, she did not return home. At first, David assumed maybe she was with a friend, or probably her phone was dead, or maybe she didn’t want to talk with him, but as time went on, the possibilities started disappearing, and then he realized that something was truly wrong. David immediately called the police and filed a missing person report. Later, he received a call from Detective Rosemary Vick, played by Debra Messing. They both started the investigation, and the only clue left behind was Margot’s laptop.
David was so desperate, and he could not wait for the police to get answers. So, he went through Margot’s laptop, hoping that he would find clues about her whereabouts. Surprisingly, as he was searching through her laptop, he started to discover a side of Margot that he never knew existed. He felt that he was raising a completely different person. Like I said, there are parts that are heartbreaking. I really felt for him when he sat down on the ground and was crying. There were also parts where you’ll find funny.
Talking about David and Margot again, both of them were actually in good terms. He loved his daughter, but I think their relationship was not really perfect. They both had a communication problem. David understood that his daughter was growing up, and he saw some of her behaviors as normal teenage behavior. I think he didn’t want to overreact. David was a kind of person who was always trying to be involved in his daughter’s life. But then again, David used to get frustrated with the way she handled things sometimes, just like the way parents get frustrated with their teenagers when they forget to take out the garbage or when they catch their child lying to them.
One of the things I loved about the movie was how the filmmakers were able to use the laptop to get us into David’s head. There were lots of times when he texted his daughter. He would first write out something, and we’d see how he was feeling. He’d delete the text and then think of something more appropriate to write, just like some of us do. In fact, I was able to access his thoughts without needing a voice-over.
Another emotional moment in the thriller was the opening, where David and his wife welcomed their daughter, Margot. They saw her growing up, learning how to play the piano, and spending quality time together. Unfortunately, the wife fell ill. She was diagnosed with cancer, and they both struggled with the loss. That was really sad. That scene brought us to the present day. One could feel that there was a hole in the family. David and his daughter were trying to continue with their lives, but neither of them really knew how to talk about the pain they had experienced, and I think this alone made Margot’s disappearance even more heartbreaking.
About the suspense? Enough clues were dropped in the movie, which made you want to solve the mystery with them, but they didn’t make everything so obvious that you would immediately know what would happen next. And again, the movie was unpredictable. Honestly, I thought I had an idea where the movie was going while I was watching it, but it took another turn. The whole acting was good. Normally, one would think that making use of the laptop format for acting movies would be cheap, but I was impressed with the way everything was done. The pacing was good, and the suspense was from the beginning of the movie till the end.
However, I do have a couple of criticisms, and this happened towards the end of the movie. I started noticing the way they were limiting telling the entire story through screens. I felt the way they showed some parts directly off-screen had broken the style of the movie. Well, I guess they did what they could have done. Personally, the ending felt slightly rushed to me. Still, I was satisfied with it.
Overall, Searching was packed with emotional moments, mystery, and yeah, it was filled with enough twists to keep you guessing. So, if you’re a lover of mysteries, psychological thrillers, and crime stories, Searching is definitely worth watching.
Images were sourced from IMDb.
Rating: 85/100
