Searching (2018)
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Searching Movie Review
Searching is a 2018 thriller film directed by Aneesh Chaganty and starring John Cho and Debra Messing. It’s one of the year’s most effective, finest flicks.
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“I didn’t know her.
I didn’t know my daughter“
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It follows a father desperately searching for his missing daughter through her computer in particular. It’s a somewhat familiar premise, but with an added timely twist to it that it’s all filmed using smartphone and laptop screens. Yes, ‘Unfriended’ did this before, but this movie does it infinitely better and is not just a cheap gimmick.
Yes, finally we have a modern movie and especially a modern thriller that emphasizes the importance of the internet and social media in particular. I found the film at some times looking too cheap, but for the most part they found clever ways to make this gimmick work stupendously, especially in the vigil sequence which is so smartly presented to us.
But the biggest reason why Searching is so great lies in its storytelling and not just execution. This script is so stellar and also so sophisticated that I adored every second of it. This is one of the rare movies that surprised me as that almost never happens to me anymore. Its unpredictable nature propels this flick to greater ranks of the thriller genre with its twist being particularly phenomenal and making sense as they give you some hints and clues to solve it previously.
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John Cho leads this movie stupendously. I always was aware of this actor, but I never expected him to give this strong of a performance. He’s an underused acting talent, that’s for sure. And yes, this is actually the 2018 Asian-American movie that is really important for this minority as it’s just a regular movie, but with an Asian-American lead, and a lead who is likable. Needless to say, it is so much better in every way than that rom com mediocrity.
Michelle La is also quite good for the little screen time that she got. Yes, I wanted more of Margot Kim in the film for sure, but the way they used her almost in every scene through the small screen was very clever plus that finale is beyond touching. And I have to praise Debra Messing of Will & Grace fame. She showed in this film how she can be an excellent dramatic actress and a very underrated one as she delivered a powerful performance in a very emotional role. Watching the scenes between the two was a treat.
Aneesh Chaganty directed the film well for his first effort, but the overall direction isn’t as great as the rest of the film’s elements are. I also found the movie struggling in its tone as it did not decide if it wanted to be a cheap indie flick or a bigger studio picture. But the editing and pacing are phenomenal, leading to what is arguably the year’s most purely involving, thrilling picture.
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The cinematography is also highly accomplished at making use of the small screens so well. The score is actually rather beautiful and pleasantly understated. The dialogue is also excellent and the film’s emotional investment is undisputed. Its red herring is solid, but not all that hard to figure out, but all of the other twists in the movie worked stupendously, leading to a perfect, very well thought out mystery that kept me at the edge of my seat throughout its short runtime.
Thanks to deft editing and pacing, great cinematography and an amazing, beautifully thought out mystery that kept me at the edge of my seat, Searching is also stupendously acted by John Cho and Debra Messing who both excelled in their emotional roles. This is 2018’s important Asian-American picture and not that other mediocrity. This is the film that is constantly riveting and simply phenomenally executed across the board with an amazing twist, a superb script and a great, timely use of the internet and social media as a storytelling tool and not just a gimmick. It’s one of the year’s finest films and most definitely one of the best thrillers of the 2010s.
