Searching (2018) Finds Its Place in the Thriller Hall of Fame
Overall Grade: A
Searching premiered in theaters in August 2018 and stars John Cho (Harold and Kumar, Star Trek, Sleepy Hollow) as David Kim, a widowed father of a teenage girl who suddenly goes missing. As you’ve probably noticed from advertisements, this movie is shot entirely from the perspective of various technological devices — computers, cell phones, news cameras, etc. We’re all familiar with found footage films like Cloverfield (2008) and Chronicle (2012) and we know that often, it just doesn’t work. If you hate found footage, I encourage you to give Searching a shot; director Aneesh Chaganty did an excellent job with cinematography.
This movie has a small but important main cast, and the cinematographic perspective provides an advantage to giving each character equal shine. Debra Messing (Will & Grace) plays Detective Sargeant Rosemary Vick, the officer leading the investigation into David’s daughter, Margot’s (Michelle La; one-off appearances in Mom and Gilmore Girls), disappearance. Although we see the late Mrs. Kim (Sarah Sohn; Sense8) mainly through home videos stored on the family computer, there’s no doubt that her love and loss is a central aspect of the movie. Joseph Lee (Miracle That We Met) rounds out the cast as David’s pot-smoking, sports-loving brother.
The most chilling aspect of the movie isn’t that Margot is missing. While that’s panic-inducing for any parent, the real horror in this movie lies with David realizing he doesn’t really know his own daughter. If you ever can’t find your kid, where’s the first place you look? Their friends. You might call or text them (or their parents), or maybe hit them up on Facebook. Well, that’s not a viable option for David.
Margot doesn’t even have friends.
That’s right. After scouring her social media feeds, iMessage, and computer files, he quickly finds that no one Margot interacted with is really her friend. They don’t really know who she is, where she hangs out, or most importantly, how she could’ve come up missing. It becomes clear that Margot isolated herself after the death of her mother, but David couldn’t see past his own grief.
Another thing this movie gets incredibly right is social media. I laughed in a funny-not-funny way as David scrolled through YouTube and Twitter looking at content related to his daughter’s disappearance. The movie accurately captured the utter stench of cruelty that plagues online comments sections.

The unique cinematography of the movie made it feel as though it went on forever, but in a good way. The audience is present for every twist, turn, new development, and dead end. There is not one extraneous detail, person, or plot line in the entire film — everything spoken or displayed on screen is relevant, and scrupulous moviegoers will enjoy the breadcrumbs and foreshadowing.
Though the cinematography can be visually overwhelming at first, the movie unfolds and concludes beautifully. Searching is a meticulously crafted film offering a refreshing departure from the general monotony of theatrical releases in recent years.
Originally published at taireviewsthings.com on September 4, 2018.

