Searching is the 2018 Masterpiece You Probably Never Saw

-

Directed by Aneesh Chaganty and starring John Cho, Searching is a 2018 thriller which was tragically overlooked. It's the first mainstream Hollywood thriller staring an Asian-American actor, and Cho proves himself as a phenomenal actor who is capable of carrying the film entirely on his own shoulders. The directing, acting, and story are all absolutely phenomenal, and I really must urge everyone who reads this to seek this movie out (currently it's available on Vudu and Amazon Prime for purchase, unfortunately I don't think you can rent it anywhere right now).

The film has one gimmick similar to that of Unfriended. You know, that awful 2015 horror movie where you watch some rude teenagers get killed off by the ghost of the girl they bullied to the point of suicide? Yeah. Searching is told entirely through computer screens, webcams, emails, phone calls, and various other types of modern technology.

However, the gimmick works in the case of this film. It feels natural, you're not left frustrated with how slow someone types or the fact that they clearly have never used a computer before. Instead, the computer is utilized in a way that makes it feel like an extension of the actors. After a while you forget it's even there, and you're just watching a fascinating story unfold. It's not like Unfriended which relied entirely on the gimmick of watching a computer screen, and it would be a fantastic drama even without the stylistic decision Chaganty decided on.

In Searching, John Cho is a father who is trying to track down the location of his 16-year-old daughter. He's run-down and struggling to parent after his wife's death, which has taken an awful toll on himself and their daughter. Cho gives a stellar performance and his desperation and love for a daughter he can't connect with is visible in how exhausted he looks throughout the majority of the film. If you're not convinced that Cho is a great actor, watch this movie. The introduction is also a wonderful parallel to Disney's praised opening for Up in terms of a film mastering the art of visual storytelling that can tug at an audience's heartstrings.

I really can't sing this movie's praises enough. It's criminal how few people have seen it, and it really is a masterpiece of wonderful screenwriting. Searching has a simple but captivating plot, and I urge you to seek it out and experience the emotional rollercoaster yourself.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Host Shudder Original Movie Review: The Little Movie That Could

-
Image
The following review of Host  is spoiler free! As the coronavirus pandemic stretches on, filmmakers have found themselves struggling to find innovative ways to continue on in their craft. While movies like Searching  (which is fantastic, by the way) and Unfriended  attempted to provide stories via webcam footage and glimpses of a laptop interface, Host  does it out of necessity rather than due to a stylistic choice. Director Rob Savage uses the pandemic as a realistic backdrop for a relatively simple movie. Due to the technological limitations from actors being restrained to working from their webcams and Host's  devotion to realism, the movie is very brief. It's only 57 minutes long - the length of a free group Zoom call. However, the short length of the movie doesn't hold it back. In fact, it makes Host  a fast and fun horror movie for a season where we can't expect many new films. There's no unnecessary exposition, nor are there lengthy scenes to show us the rela
Read more

The Lodge Movie Review: An Underrated Gem

-
Image
Discussing The Lodge  without spoilers is incredibly difficult, but this review will be completely spoiler free. The basic premise of the horror movie is simple, but admittedly a little strange: two children are forced to spend the holidays with their father's girlfriend in the titular lodge during a terrible blizzard. All three of them are unhappy with an arrangement which sounds disastrous from the start, yet the girlfriend and father decide it's simply what they should do. So, we join Riley Keough in her babysitting adventure isolated in a cabin. My biggest critique is that the writers should have decided on stronger reasoning for Keough to wind up stuck with the two children in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps it could have been a situation more like  The Shining  and less along the lines of "your dad said this is a good idea, so it's clearly a good idea." Silly set-up aside, The Lodge  is decent. The film longs to discuss complex subjects like religious abuse,
Read more

Netflix's Enola Holmes (2020) is Condescending and Dull

-
Image
(The following review is spoiler-free!) "Enola is alone backwards," our protagonist tells us in one of her many monologues. She tells us many things - how she's feeling, what she's thinking, where she thinks she should go next. Her wide gaze is disconcerting and her sunny disposition grating. This isn't Sherlock Holmes, this is Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill playing dress-up. Everything about Netflix's newest release is grating. Its mystery begs us to care for cartoonish characters who speak to us as if we're watching an episode of Dora the Explorer. Showing rather than telling is thrown to the wayside in favor of constant fourth wall breaks to beat your sense of immersion into a bloody pulp. Enola Holmes  wants you to know that you're watching a movie, and that it's the funniest, wittiest, and most important movie you're ever going to see (unfortunately, in light of recent events that very well may be true). From its fast-paced editing to
Read more