This is a very intricately created suspense thriller. Everything you need to learn or know about a missing girl throughout this film you see on a computer screen. This film will open your eyes to how much detailed information can be made available from a laptop. And how much you don’t know about your own family members once you are able to see what they’ve been up to.
It’s the emotional story of a single father whose daughter goes missing and it will grab you from the get-go. The film begins with an emotional collage of home videos with snippets of significant events from birth to the present of their child’s accomplishments, big and small. Margot is shown at birth, 5, 7, 9 years old and beyond. Even more interesting, it also informs the changes in technology Margot and her parents use from early in Margot’s life to today. And because it changes so fast, the director says from the day the film opens, the technology shown in this movie will be outdated!
Jon Cho nails the frustration and desperation as the father, David Kim. This is the first time an Asian actor has played the lead in a present day American suspense thriller. He’s the stressed father of a teen girl, Margot, (Michelle La) with attitude. She isn’t very communicative and is depressed. Understandable, since her mother died of cancer and she’s still grieving. David is trying to fill both parental roles, but he’s dealing with the loss of his wife Pam (Sara Sohn, Furious 7,Twin Peaks) as well. The collage at the beginning creates of portrait of them as a close, happy, loving family.
When Margot doesn’t come home from an overnight study group, Detective Vick (Debra Messing) comes on to direct the investigation. This is a big change for the actress known more for broad comedy. But she proves she can handle serious drama more than adequately. She is convincing as an investigator and even more as a sympathetic Mom because she has a teenage son of her own. Her performance and her interaction with Cho are compelling.
Director Aneesh Chaganty wrote, shot and edited this film, with co-writer/producer Sev Ohanian. It took 2 years from start to finish. Chaganty was definitely the right person for the job. He is a USC film graduate and used to work at Google, so technology is in his DNA. He and Ohanian actually made two movies. In Searching 1.0, Chaganty acted out all of the parts, (wife, daughter, brother, detective, etc.) around the shots of the social media screens needed for what he called the “Scriptment.” Searching 2.0 was a combination treatment and script since there were more visuals than dialogue, incorporating so many computer messages and videos from various social media platforms. Much of what you see or read on screens in this film, he shot and saved using a GoPro mounted on a computer.
More than an hour and a half of the film was saved and ready to go before he brought in the actors to shoot their scenes interacting and reacting to the social media, often on a split screen. They shot the final version with the actors in 13 days. This is Chaganty’s first feature length film which was a new experience for just about every involved.
Cho’s expressions change with every piece of information that reveals a little at a time about his daughter’s life. He is surprised by what he’s finding out and how little he knew about her. Every time David, and Detective Vick follow a lead, there’s a twist, and time is running out.
This film is not like any video game, but kind of like electronic Clue with many more visuals. It is very well thought out and constructed. You’ll be looking at the screen, like David, for every possibility. Cho and Messing give convincing performances. And just when you think you have it figured out, you’ll be taken aback. Watching this film will help you see social media through a very different lens.
Screen Gems 1 hour 42 minutes PG-13 Reviewed August 30, 2018
