Searching (2018) – a review

In this age of web 2.0 a father tries to use every online tool at his disposal to find his missing daughter. Soon he learns that his online and offline daughter appears to be two very different people. And so the search begins.

Most of this article is going to be praise. Searching is one very clever thriller/mystery that manages to tie everything up in the end with no loose ends. Seriously, even the most (apparent) blatant inconsistencies can be explained away the minute you know the truth.
A truth, by the way, the movie invites you to solve together with our heroes. Finally an original big screen whodunnit.

With the onscreen revival of Sherlock Holmes, Poirot and now this movie

I’m actually rather pleased with the way the trend is going.

Already outdated.
But, critiques first: In five years time this movie is going to feel outdated. Like the net (1995) before it the movie might feel ‘hip’ right now but we all know digital technology isn’t standing still.

However, this movie has two things going for it. First of all it actually takes place in the past: 2017. So there is no need to get all science fiction on the viewer. The technology used is the technology available at that time.
Second, as the everlasting time-capsule, in five years time people will look at this movie like a techno-thriller set in 2017. With all the elements of social isolation, connectivity and find-ability that define our era. Just like Network (1976)–with its gigantic camera’s- was the result of the seventies (justified) mistrust of mass media as a top-down entity.

The point I’m making; that in five years time this movie might be forgotten by the masses as it will ‘look’ or ‘feel’ outdated. The same way a lot of people don’t like to watch black and white movies anymore. But for us movie lovers this movie will stand as a brave new entry in the form of the medium and the (third) creator of a new genre: the screenmovie.

The screenmovie versus found-footage movies, versus mockumentary.
The screenmovie, the found-footage movie and the mockumentary are closely connected. The latter one being a fake documentary (Orson Welles did a great one: F for fake -1973). Just, basically, lying your behind off and using the tricks of the movie trade to ‘sell’ it to the audience as truth.
The protagonist here is the cameraman/documentarian. It’s his eye, his lens, the choices he makes during editing that guides the story in one direction or another.

Usually, mockumentaries can’t help themselves but to let the cat out of the bag near the end. A magician just has to tell the audience he fooled them somehow.

Or sometimes the subject material is just so ridiculous they don’t even have to (e.g. What we do in the shadows -2014).

Found footage takes this a step further by actually lying to the audience throughout that what you see is ‘real’.
The protagonist here is the camera itself. Meaning, that the only guiding hand is editing. Moreover, since the camera is a thing, all bets are off for the main characters. The camera doesn’t care who holds it. So, like Cloverfield (2008), the camera can be handed to the next person at a moment’s notice.

The screenmovie then is the next logical step. The protagonist, now, isn’t the person who’s holding the camera but anybody in the world using social media. The end of Chronicle (2012) had the main character collecting all the streaming smartphones around him because he liked the attention.

That scene, to me, is the overlap between found-footage and screenmovie.

But in Searching it really is anybody. Or, at least, that’s the notion the movie is playing with. For now, Searching still needs the desperate father as the conduit to give all the information to the audience (like the brilliant Cyberbully -2015). But I wouldn’t be surprised if the next screenmovie might forgo with a main protagonist all together.

The mockumentary and the found-footage genre do have two issues in common that keep on returning in each and every outing.

Something the screenmovie genre might want to keep in mind.

Usually, as the movie progresses credibility starts to strain. This is Spinal Tap (19884) went a bit overboard in silliness that pressed against the ‘straight’ documentary style. And most found-footage movies makes you wonder why somebody in danger would go to such lengths to keep the camera in focus (e.g. Afflicted -2013).

Also near the end of the movie(s), when the big finale is about to happen, the novelty of the form has worn off. Now the question becomes: do I (as a movie maker) keep the original form (As above, so below -2014) or do I change things around (like Chronicle’s smartphone finale)?

Searching changes things around near the end and I’m not entirely convinced whether it’s a good choice. But, at the same time, these scenes do help the credibility. You can’t see everything from your laptop; or can you?

What you write online.
Solidly produced as a love project by Timur Bekmambetov Searching shines with enthusiasm.

I love his directed movies Nightwatch (2004), Daywatch (2006) and, of course, Wanted (2008).

After that, however, it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

The strength of the movie lies within the script. The story has a logical flow from A to Z that relies on the characters to push the story forwards. With a smart tech-savvy father character in David Kim and a devoted (equally savvy) detective Vicks on the case. You never question their motivations or actions.
If you know computers and your daughter is missing, of course you put your skill-set to good use. No matter how much the loss eats away at you.

The dialogue written underlines this with (almost) never a word out of place. Moreover, because this is a movie that is, for large chunks, all about taking in visual information a lot of scenes are the father character silently staring at the screen (and sometimes even literally moved aside), which the movie allows.

Movies are, and always have been, since the very beginning, telling stories by pictures. Apparently it takes a 2018 high tech computer thriller to remind us of the silent movie days.

What you see online.
Aneesh Chaganty shot this movie in (apparently) thirteen days. After that the rest of two years was spent on the clever animation and footage. Every movement of the mouse, every article that appears on screen -the, above mentioned 'moving the father aside'- is well thought out and created. There are numerous little hints and clues in the jigsaw of information bombarded at the viewer that would certainly merit a second viewing.

Now, as a director ordering the camera around, there isn’t a lot of credit to give a man who has to work with a (mostly) immovable camera. Some of the lighting and set design is nicely chosen. But most of all, for such a technical movie, I like the fact that the director trusted the extremely small cast of actors to just act.

The movie is comprised of a series of dialogues through a computer screen (basically monologues because there isn’t somebody in the room to physically react to). These scenes are a joy for an actor to play; the entire stage is yours.

John Cho as and Debra Messing –who always enjoys taking on emotional parts next to her comic work- jump at the chance to showcase their talent as the tale turns darker and emotions run high.
Both actors are on fire as they show that they are more than capable of their craft. Moreso when you realize that (like a limited stageplay) they only have a small space to move in –the webcam’s field of vision. And when they move their face into frame they have to hit the visual mark each and every time. Otherwise –as is often the case in real life- the webcam is filming your nostrils.

Before logging off.
Naturally, as a media critic, I find it fun to note the various little stabs Searching makes at real life cases. Hashtag ‘Hope and prayers’ is in there, The current president is dominating online news in the background, and some people will do anything for views and likes. That’s the cherry on top that you want from such a movie. Again, in five years time a lot of these little jabs will (maybe) be forgotten. But it’s the extra layer of an exquisitely crafted crime-story.