"Searching" Movie Review

    “Searching” wasn’t really on my radar when I was going to see a movie recently.  I had known very little about it and had not heard much about it either.  Well, sometimes it’s rewarding to jump into a movie blindly.
    Directed by Aneesh Chaganty who up until now was best know for a YouTube video entitled “Seeds”.  “Searching”, all things considered, shouldn’t even have been a movie.  It was originally pitched as a short film.  The studios loved the concept so much that they gave Chaganty, an unproven director, a feature film budget.
    The film is told entirely either through a computer monitor or a smartphone.  While this isn’t the first movie to attempt such a concept, it is the first film to be entirely successful.  It’s easy to dismiss this filmmaking approach when looking at films like “Unfriended” but this film really uses the format to give clues and enhance the narrative.
    The film is about the relationship between David Kim (John Cho) and his daughter and how that relationship is tested when his daughter goes missing.  Was she kidnapped?  Did she run away?  How well did he know his daughter?  How well do you know your daughter?  This makes for an interesting and compelling thriller as David has to follow his instincts to try and find his missing daughter.
    The movie largely works because of the emotional performance of John Cho as David Kim.  Cho is mainly known for his comedic roles and as Hikaru Sulu in the new Star Trek films.  He proves he has what it takes to carry a dramatic film with this movie.  Debra Messing is also surprisingly good as the detective helping David.  I didn’t even recognize it was her until the end credits rolled.
    The movie is a powerful and suspenseful and worth a watch if you love thrillers.  The movie is full of twists and turns that keep you on your toes.  The red herrings used in the film are also well done.  The movie proves the “Unfriended” computer format can work, and if you pay to actually get the license for the actual social media sites, it only enhances the feeling of realism.

Grade: B+