Searching Review

You know, this weekend, I thought my priority for this blog would be to finally get my Ralph Breaks the Internet review finished, a week after I saw it. Then I watched another internet-related film: Searching. Upon watching this film, I reworked my priorities. Ralph can wait. You're gonna see it anyway. I'll get it in soon, but I just have so much to talk about regarding Searching and comparatively less to talk about regarding Ralph. Besides, this is more of a sleeper. People need to know about this film that managed to exceed my already high anticipations. 

Searching is a thriller that embodies everything I want from my favorite genre. It's very innovative, intense, and surprisingly emotional. In case you don't know about this film let me fill you in. It stars John Cho (Mr. Sulu from the new Star Trek movies) as David Kim, a father whose daughter (Margot) mysteriously goes missing one night. To aid in the investigation, he searches for clues from his daughter's laptop in order to get some clue as to a possible reason for her disappearance. But there's the catch: the entire movie takes place within various screens. Most of it is from the perspective of a laptop, but some of it is from a phone, security cameras, or even news reports. Nevertheless, each scene takes place in a screen of some sort and all dialogue takes place through FaceTime, phone calls, or messaging. Here's a still from the movie to give you an idea:

The entire movie is like this and this form of storytelling only supplies to the film. The film almost feels claustrophobic in a way, especially considering that it's mostly confined to the perspective of a laptop. Yet even then, it feels like any sort of plot twist can occur at any moment. Every scene of the film until the end feels like anything can happen. And that pretty much accurately sums up the events. Anything WILL happen. It's also one of those movies where you have to pay attention at all times. There are important details throughout that you can blink and miss. And even if they aren't integral to the story, they make the experience even more intriguing as you can find details pertaining to the characters' lives along with their interests. To top it all off, the attention to detail in creating an accurate representation of the technology makes it work even more. The film is very smart and very intense. It's literally a perfect thriller in my eyes. 

And you know what? This film continues to pleasantly shock me as it also works phenomenally as a drama! Specifically, it works as a family drama. The film does something in particular to make this: oh yeah, they make you care about the characters! The relationship between David Kim and Margot Kim is only clearly conveyed through their texts throughout the movie, yet we get a great idea of what it was like throughout her life. We get to learn about David through his conversations with his brother, the investigator, Margot's classmates, and basically everyone he talks to. We also get a great idea of what Margot is like through David's search as we learn about how she interacts with people and through basically everything he finds on her computer. We also get an idea of what their lives were like before the film through a brutal gut-punch of a prologue. This thing is comparable to the first 10 minutes of Up. I'm not even joking. And bringing us back to the authentic feeling of the technology, through this prologue, they show the progression of technology. Seriously, the first computer shown is a Windows XP. They use change in technology to show change in time. This prologue not only helps us get to know the Kim family, but it also gives us a view of past technology. Ultimately, the film is about the importance of family and the importance of being able to talk about serious issues with your family. And building on to that, John Cho delivers an amazing performance as David. It feels genuine. It feels like a very accurate portrayal of father who is desperate to find his daughter. This drama, in turn, makes the film work even better as a thriller. You can understand why David is so determined to find Margot. All of these pieces fit together perfectly and make this film work even more than I previously imagined it would.

As for negatives, I legitimately can't think of a single one. This feels like a movie tailor-made for me. It manages to thrill me while also intriguing me on a dramatic standpoint. In fact, it worked so well, that I'm going to say that Searching is tied with A Quiet Place as my favorite film of the year. Because think about it: these films aren't too different in terms of what I loved about them. They're both thrillers that have a focus on strong family dynamics, have two extremely innovative methods of conveying these stories, are technical masterpieces and still, beyond all of those positives, manage to be the most entertaining films I've seen all year. I'm probably gonna watch Searching again to see what I missed the first time pretty soon. I enjoyed it that much. And if you are interested in this film, before or after reading my review, I recommend you watch it and that you don't watch it alone. Watch it with friends, family, or both, because trust me, you're gonna want to talk about this film with someone.

SCORE: 10/10

There's really nothing else for me to say. I would say more, but I don't want to spoil it. Watch this film ASAP. You're gonna love it.