Searching

       Searching is about a father whose daughter goes missing after attending a study group session. After waiting about 24 hours to see if she would come home, he calls the police and meets detective Rick who has been assigned to her case. Rick asks him to help out with the investigation and he does so by contacting every person she's talked to and using her laptop to get every piece of info he can. Things start to escalate and the father is put through the hardest challenge: that of trust. Who can he trust and who is suspicious?

       There was a movie that came out a couple of years ago called Unfriended. If you remember the plot then you'll know that it was told entirely through the kids' laptops screens and through a skype call. It was an interesting narrative choice and it mostly worked, but it still wasn't as great as the producers were hoping. That same narrative tool of only being able to see through laptop screens and other devices is used in this movie and they pretty much nail the technique. The only other time your not seeing a screen of some sort is when they start using news channel footage. It's an interesting and fascinating way to tell a story and even though this movie wasn't the first to use the new narrative, it'll certainly be remembered as the first movie to do it well.

       I really enjoyed this movie. I was a bit shaky on the narrative at first, but those worries were quelled for me about 20 minutes in. The movie plays out sort of like an elongated criminal minds episode mixed with the Taken movies, at least the first one.

       The only thing I didn't really follow was towards the end. I won't get into it, but there is a motivation that I questioned and found too hollow. Other than that, this film is wonderful and certainly opens up the discussion on new ways to tell stories.

       This movie will keep you captivated till the end through all its twists and turns. It's great for everyone with its PG-13 rating and I promise you won't be disappointed. 9.5/10