A Father, His Missing Daughter, and Her Secretive Life Online

John Cho in "Searching"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

As directors Sean Baker and Steven Soderbergh proved with their respective 2015 and 2018 films, "Tangerine" and "Unsane," there are many possibilities to be had when utilizing modern technological devices for visual storytelling, with these two films being shot on iPhones.  However, an example of having this technology play a significant part in how a movie unfolds is Leo Gabriadze’s 2015 horror film “Unfriended,” which takes place on MacBook screen during a Skype chat.  

Now, Aneesh Chaganty brings us a movie with a similar approach for his feature-film directorial debut, “Searching,” the story of which is told through computer and smartphone screens.  The result is a psychological techno-thriller that never uses its visual style as a crutch, but rather employs it in such a way that offers the movie an abundance of surprises and emotional depth.

David Kim (John Cho) is the single father of Margo (Michelle La), a high-school student.  Near the end of the school year, she disappears.  With the help of Detective Rosemary Vick (Debra Messing), David searches through Margo's social media accounts to determine what might have happened to her.  As the investigation progresses, David makes discoveries that cause him to wonder if he knew his daughter at all.

Cho delivers a captivating performance as a father who's experiencing a parent's worst nightmare, and the dramatic heft that he provides for his character is one of the aspects that helps the film become so much more than it could have been.  Through his work, Cho brings the urgency, worry, and frustration that goes into trying to find Margo, and his commitment to the role gets you caught up in his character's persistence as he gets further into the mystery.     

Messing presents a character who's determined in her profession, but still offers a sense of caring towards David during his unimaginable ordeal.  Messing's role provides a feeling of certainty that Margo will be found, even when the situation has anything but certainty, and you're relieved to have this character with you during the film.

After the first 10 minutes of the movie, you only see Margo from time to time (obviously), but in these quick scenes, La offers a performance as someone who seems detached and troubled, which encourages you to wonder what was bothering her in the events leading up to her disappearance and adds to the emotional stakes of the story, which are already significant.

What's intriguing about this kind of movie is how, just like in "Unfriended," you can know what the characters are thinking, even when they're not on screen.  The way that the cursor moves and hesitates over the "Send" button, or the way how someone might type something, only to then erase it and pause to think of something else to write, you can feel the character's hesitation and contemplate their thoughts as they decide what to do.  This is just one of many examples of how you can develop your characters when you use mobile and desktop devices as the canvases for your story.

The screenplay by Chaganty and Sev Ohanian provides you with insight into who Margo is, but keeps enough about her undisclosed so as not to reveal any secrets too soon.  The way in which they use videos and pictures to help you become familiar with Margo's family in the film's opening minutes is one of the film’s most-noteworthy aspects, and this helps you become invested in the characters early on, so when the search for Margo begins, you're able to have a deeper connection with David as he goes through the tribulation of having his daughter go missing.  When all of this is mixed into a story that presents one shock after another, you have a narrative that succeeds in keeping you enthralled in its labyrinthine mystery.  Everything that we learn about Margo’s online life adds another layer to her disappearance, and every bit of information acts as a piece to a digital puzzle that becomes more intricate from scene to scene.

As a director, Chaganty makes sure that “Searching” provides us with enough time to dwell on what we find out about Margo and contemplate what it could all mean in the bigger picture of the investigation.  And, with cinematography from Juan Sebastian Baron that immerses us in the details of the film’s online landscape, and editing from Nick Johnson and Will Merrick that makes the film as fast-paced as any other memorable thriller, Chaganty and his team chase a new horizon of modern filmmaking (just as Gabriadze did with “Unfriended”), leading to an innovative moviegoing experience.

If you would like a film that will keep you breathless and rigid in your seat, your search ends here. 

Grade: A