Searching (2018) - A Review

 

Searching is a compelling, modern mystery.

Searching is an American mystery thriller movie released in 2018, and stars John Cho, Debra Messing,  Michelle La, and Joseph Lee. This movie was written (along with Sevak Ohanian) and directed by  Aneesh Chaganty in his directorial debut.

John Cho makes you feel for him in this movie, with just his face visible throughout most of it.

 In Searching, John Cho plays David Kim, the single father of  teenage daughter Margot Kim (played by Michelle La). They seem to have a pretty good relationship, with Margot being focused on school and playing piano while David also hangs out with his brother Peter Kim (played by Joseph Lee). One night, Margot goes to study with her friends; as David sleeps, Margot calls three times, but he doesn't answer. The next morning, David finds the call notifications and tries to call her back. Margot doesn't respond. Worried, he contacts Margot's piano teacher, who tells him some surprising news. After this, David calls the police for help in finding his missing daughter, and Detective Rosemary Vick is in charge of the case. David goes through all of Margot's social media profiles to find info to help Detective Vick with the case. He soon finds out that he doesn't really know his daughter at all...

Michelle La as Margot Kim. Margot is a typical teenager... or so it seems.

 Searching takes place all on a computer screen. Dave Kim goes through real web sites like Google and Facebook to find info about his daughter and her last known location. It is actually very similar to the movie, Unfriended in that way. Where that was an over the top horror movie, Searching is more of a tense thriller. You really feel for Dave Kim throughout this movie, and John Cho does a great job showing the frustration, desperation, and drive in finding his daughter. It's amazing, as most of his performance is focused on his face. Michelle La plays Margot as a normal teenage girl, who is going through some things... Debra Messing as Detective Vick is a tough, no nonsense cop who is dedicated to resolving the case. Since this is a mystery movie, I am keeping this review vague, but trust me there are some twists and turns in this one!

It was very cool to see Debra Messing in this kind of role.

So, should you see Searching? I would say yes. It's really good! It had me interested and involved throughout its runtime. I mean, it's pretty cool seeing a story unfold on a web browser. It has some good red herrings, but everything is hinted at throughout the film (I figured it out by the middle of the movie). I will say, to me, it seemed a little too easy to get into profiles, things are a bit too coincidental, and the ending can be considered a bit far-fetched (but it could still happen as it does in the movie), but this is to be expected in a Hollywood film. This movie will make you think about what you share online and in real life, and it will make you thankful and a bit fearful of the interconnected technological world we live in. Check out Searching, it's quite the ride!

Reviewed by David Williams