Searching (8/10)
by Tony Medley
Runtime 105 minutes.
PG-13
This is a brilliantly devised
thriller that is told in such a captivating way that it is almost
impossible not to enjoy. Written (with Sev Ohanian) and directed by
Aneesh Chaganty, the unique and clever cinematography opens with a
computer screen and somebody typing into it. Get used to that because
half of the movie is shown that way, with people texting and speaking
with one another on their computers.
Margot (Michelle La), the
daughter of David Kim (John Cho), goes missing and he has no way to
track her down except through her computer life. Debra Messing is the
police officer in charge of searching for her and she seems really
committed to helping David find his daughter.
Producer Timur Bekmambetov
grasped on this story with his concept that he calls “screen-life” and
feels it is a new film language. He discovered it in 2012 when he was
having a Skype communication with a partner. The partner failed to turn
off the screen-sharing function, so Bekmambetov observed as his friend
made internet searches, communicated with friends on social media, place
internet orders, and do the other things that people do on their
computers. He felt that this gave him a completely new view of his
friend’s “inner life,” and what made him tick, as he watched him move
the cursor, open and close windows, and the choices he made. He felt
that he could deduce his friend’s emotions as he watched him navigate on
his computer. The result is this captivating film, which exposes
people’s “screen life.”
So it is with this film. With
access to her computer, David learns more about his daughter than he
ever knew, accessing social media, texts, emails, her whole life shown
in photos and video snippets, saved on her computer. What this unique
film does is tell a story by showing the modern way people interact in
this electronic world.
For most people, I guess, the
things David goes through on her computer are normal things young people
do every day, but for some of it, it’s state of the art, so that part
was truly enlightening.
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