Review: Searching

Do we ever really know?

Single dad David (John Cho) is thrown for a loop when his teenage daughter, Margot (Michelle La) goes missing. Not believing she would simply run away, he breaks into her computer and attempts to piece everything together.

Searching is shot entirely through another screen. Computer monitors, video chat, news reports. This gimmick isn't new, most recently Unfriended used this technique and before that, Megan is Missing also used it to disastrous results. I wonder if writer/director Aneesh Chaganty saw the latter and used it as an outline of what not to do. Realistically, no one uses video calling this much, but the film uses it in a way that's almost completely believable and I appreciated those little touches, such as David just leaving his video chat app open on his computer while he makes a regular telephone call. So we still see David through the screen, but it's not his only form of communication.

This is a proper mystery through and through and John Cho is brilliant as a grieving father who is always honest and believable. The trailer that the studio threw together for this does it zero justice. It keeps you guessing and doesn't clue you in on the last piece of the puzzle until you're almost there. 

The ending might not be for some, but I liked that they went there with it. Most stories like this wouldn't.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B+

Memorable Quote: "I really didn't know my daughter." - David (John Cho)