Searching

"He just missed his daughter's final call."

Filmology Rating: 3.5 out of 4

Searching is written and directed by someone who appeared out of thin air and stars John Cho as your average concerned Dad. When his daughter goes missing and the Police are stumped, John Cho takes it upon himself to investigate his daughter's personal life online only to find more and more disturbing details about his daughter's personal life than he could have imagined.
 
This film has  gotten a lot of good buzz and not just because it was a good film, but rather it was all shot through FaceTime conversations, cell phone cameras, and security footage. This film, on a technical level, is an astronomical achievement in this area of filmmaking because before this film came out, every film shot like this, failed miserably. But to say the least, I have never had a more gripping and suspenseful theatre experience in my life. And it didn't cost 200 million dollars to make!

The film itself has a very simple premise, but one that is deeply explored and dives into themes that I don't believe have been touched until now. One being that parents may know their kids, but they don't know that other side of them; the one that lives online, at school, with friends. And the slow unraveling that occurs on this man's daughter is so horrifying to watch because it's something that is true about almost everyone. 

This film also touches on the idea of how dangerous the internet can be for younger people, especially women. This film shows the possibilities of what can happen when a young teenager meets a stranger online and what it could lead to.

John Cho's performance I found to be captivating as a father who stops at nothing to find out what happened to his daughter. I've never been so transfixed on a film and I never knew what was going to happen next. 

My only complaint is that the end of the film has a lot of exposition shoveled out, but it was necessary. Please go out and support this little film! This is truly captivating and I never lost the sense of goosebumps flowing through me at any point in the film. This is, as of right now, my favorite movie of the year.

Rating: See It 

-Nolan