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Searching
(Screen Gems)
By Lucas Allen
The internet can be a great place to connect with family and friends, but there’s no use in sugarcoating its dark side. Trolls, scammers, angry “Star Wars” fans, and whatever worse stuff you can think of; social media can also be an easy gateway for a certain amount of people to cause much more harm than good, especially on the unsuspecting.
There’s no better case than the new thriller “Searching,” which tells a mystery story through the technology we use today.
Unlike “Unfriended,” which was entertaining, but took a detour into supernatural horror, “Searching” feels like a real life story, but with elements of a techno-thriller from the late-90s done right.
After losing his wife Pam (Sara Sohn) to cancer, David Kim (John Cho) tries his hardest as a single parent raising his teenage daughter Margot (Michelle La).
They have a good father-and-daughter relationship, but it’s starting to strain as time goes on. One day, Margot doesn’t answer her father’s text messages. Fearing the worst, he calls up her friends from school asking where she may be. Soon enough he begins to realize that his daughter may not be who she really is when he finds out she has more money in her bank account and could be running away from home.
Once the police get involved, detective Rosemary Vick (Debra Messing) recommends going through the hard drive of Margot’s laptop to dig up more clues. David also goes through his daughter’s social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram to piece what she’s been doing for the past 48 hours. The more he discovers what she does online, the deeper the rabbit hole goes. It leads to twist after twist that finally exposes the real reason for her disappearance.
The movie opens with a five-minute montage of a family together before tragedy, similar to the opening montage from Pixar’s “Up.” It shows the evolution of technology and the internet from early in the 2000s to this decade from the perspective of a normal family using them. Then the plot comes in and before you know it, that happiness turns upside down and throws it out the window.
It’s worth noting that the entire movie is told from the perspective of a computer desktop, cell phone screens, and internet videos. Some of the older viewers may find it distracting, but everybody who has their noses on the computer screen will enjoy this unusual storytelling aspect that’s different from the normally average experience. It’s certainly unconventional movie making, but it works within the context of the story and its social commentary.
At 102 minutes, the movie paces great as we see a single character confront the mystery through the internet. Along the way, each clue leads to one twist after another leading to a shocking final act twist that ties everything together to a satisfying close. It’s also a scathing satirical commentary on the nature of social media, catfishing, and how the media reacts to this kind of news. If you think about it, it’s sort of like “Gone Girl” for the YouTube generation, and that’s not a terrible thing.
The movie is also an excellent spotlight for two actors who are primarily known for their comedy work, but also prove they can be serious actors. Cho (better known as one half of “Harold & Kumar”) is believable as a father desperate to find his daughter. Any father watching this film will likely relate to the character’s struggles through tragedy and happiness. Meanwhile, Messing (of “Will & Grace” fame) gives a fairly convincing performance as a police detective who brings a presence of authority to her role. She also brings a little motherly presence that plays into what happens later in the story.
“Searching” is a unique thriller that stands out from the average cookie-cutter genre fare. What could’ve been a thriller more suited as a TV movie is greatly enhanced by its filmmaking choices while speaking up on our society today. In fact, this movie can be seen as a wakeup call to parents everywhere about what your child uses on the computer every day. So please, discuss such matters carefully with your kids today.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for thematic content, some drug and sexual references, and for language)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.75 Stars (Out of Four)
