Searching is, hands down, one of the best films of 2018. It’s also, unfortunately, widely
overlooked. It deserves to be watched by
more people, for it’s pretty groundbreaking.
It’s a film that is almost completely
told through smartphone and computer screens.
While this isn’t the first movie to try such shtick – the Unfriended duology most notably did this
in recent memory – it’s definitely the first movie that has utilized it beyond just
a cheap gimmick, and as a result, its initial appeal doesn’t wear off. Rather, Searching
intelligently makes use of this unconventional filmmaking technique to truly
create an incredible cinematic experience.
The plot is about a father named David
Kim (Jon Cho) whose teenage daughter Margot (Michelle La) suddenly disappears one
day. While the official police investigation
headed by detective Rosemary Vick (Debra Messing) is ongoing, David also
proceeds to hunt for clues by looking into Margot’s digital history. In the process, he gets to learn upsetting things
about his daughter’s life that he hasn’t been aware of before. However, no information he uncovers is
leading him closer to finding her whereabouts – or so it seems.
It’s quite a terrific mystery thriller. It has shocking revelations, but it doesn’t cheat. It gets to them organically and sensibly. All details necessary to arrive at the answers have been made available for the audience to examine beforehand. Hence, it’s very much possible for an eagle-eyed member of the audience to arrive at the solutions before John Cho’s character does.
It’s quite a terrific mystery thriller. It has shocking revelations, but it doesn’t cheat. It gets to them organically and sensibly. All details necessary to arrive at the answers have been made available for the audience to examine beforehand. Hence, it’s very much possible for an eagle-eyed member of the audience to arrive at the solutions before John Cho’s character does.
In addition, it’s not only
gripping as a thriller, but it also has heart.
The opening couple of minutes, especially, is probably as strikingly
poignant as the opening minutes of Up. Seriously.
I believe its unique narrative execution
has greatly contributed to making the film emotionally resonating. It’s because all of us use computers and smartphones
in our daily lives, and are familiar with Internet culture. So when the plot is unfolding as digital
activities that the characters (especially David) are engaging in, it feels more
personal. It somewhat leads the audience
to feel for themselves the emotions that the characters are feeling.
At the hands of less proficient
direction, the choice of exclusively telling its story through just computer
screens could have easily resulted to unevenness. But director Aneesh Chaganty (who, by the way, is impressively directing for the first time) has the vision
and skill to pull it off. Thus, the
innovative storytelling makes the film riveting through and through; its flow, impeccably
coherent.
To put it simply, Searching is a masterful film. It has no evident flaws, has tons of re-watch
value, and has the makings of an eventual classic.
Currently, it sits within my top five most favorite films of the year.
And I don’t think it’ll ever fall lower than that by year-end.
Postscript (SPOILER):
A noteworthy source of bonus enjoyment for me in this movie is the secret subplot hidden in the background. Scattered across David’s Internet browsing sessions are related videos, comments, news stories, and links heavily suggesting that – dun! dun! – there’s an imminent alien invasion! Man, I understand that this could possibly be just a joke in the part of the filmmakers. But it would be cool if they make a follow-up movie about this.
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