In perhaps what will become known as the new found-footage film genre, “Searching” is a harrowing thriller told exclusively through screens (think 2014’s “Unfriended”). But instead of using the internet as a cheap supernatural gimmick, first-time director Aneesh Chaganty uses the digital world as a clever story-telling device and clever commentary on today’s social media-driven society.
“Searching” opens with a montage of videos, calendar reminders and emails chronicling the Kim family over the years as they go from a blissful family of three to a father and daughter reeling from the loss of their matriarch to cancer. Fast forward two years and daughter Margot and father David (John Cho) are getting along fine, but the loss of wife and mother Pam is still very much present. 15-year-old Margot Facetimes her father, informing him that she will be pulling an all-nighter with a study group. Later that night, a sleeping David’s computer screen shows Margot attempting to call and Facetime him multiple times. The next day, a long series of failed attempts to contact Margot leads David to realize it is time to officially report his daughter as missing.
Detective Sargent Rosemary Vick (Debra Messing) is on the case. Vick encourages David to assist the case by shedding light onto who is daughter is. David realizes the best way to do so is through her computer. He finagles his way into Margot’s Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Venmo and live-blogging accounts. David realizes what is likely the modern parent’s biggest fear — his daughter is a completely different person online. Chaganty’s narrative provides us with a well-known social truth, which is that social media provides a veil of anonymity for its users. Some use it as an escape, some use it as an excuse to troll, and others use it to store their secrets. David fears his daughter may fall into the latter category.
As this film is centered on David’s investigation into his daughter’s disappearance, Cho largely carries the film on his shoulders. He does so beautifully. Cho completely envelopes the quiet grief of a man who has not yet come to terms with his wife’s passing. Chaganty utilizes the device of a computer screen to display this by lingering on a photo of Pam, noticeably pausing before logging into his wife’s email account. A silent despair overcomes David’s face as his brother nonchalantly brings up Pam’s name over FaceTime.
Once David realizes Margot is in danger, he pours that grief into his search. Cho commands the screen as he takes the audiences emotional journey from obsessed to broken, and it will leave you breathless. Messing is not to be overlooked either. She is stoic and gracefully restrained, which is a refreshing change of pace from her most-well known role on “Will and Grace.”
Cho and Messing mesh surprisingly well. Messing elegantly balances out Cho’s performance as he rapidly falls in to manic despair. The duo drives the narrative through twist after twist, leading to the film’s thrilling finale. While it was in theaters, this film did not get nearly the amount of audience attention that it deserve. Now that it’s streaming, it’s time to seize the opportunity to watch “Searching.”
-by Brynne Ramella
