*Originally written September 4th, 2018*
Wow, this came out of nowhere. I'd never heard any buzz for this or even heard of it, then last week I saw the Internet going crazy for it and I was lucky enough to have it show near me (My cinema is notorious for not showing films that cost less than $50 million to make without Oscar buzz), The only other film of this gimmick I've seen was Unfriended, which I was not keen on at all. Thankfully, this type of film lent itself to thriller much better than horror.
The mystery at the centre of Searching is instantly engaging and breezes by. We're given a surprisingly touching and effective montage at the beginning, which I'd usually call out for being emotionally manipulative, but it worked for me. It helps that John Cho's performance is consistently excellent throughout. I had some reservations about Cho's character being a bit overbearing towards his daughter, but then I remembered the opening montage and how he acted made sense.
If you didn't know, Searching tells its entire story through computer screens, online chats and videos etc. It's something that could fall apart and take you out the film instantly, but director Anseesh Chaganty does an incredible job keeping audiences involved. If you have any nostalgia for Windows XP, then you might just cream your pants at this. Everything feels real an authentic. Some of the way people talk might be a bit cringe, but it actually feels more in touch with today's teens and behaviour than I usually see in film.
The stuff I loved the most was the Internet's reaction to the daughter going missing. They instantly attack with memes, accusations the father clearly did it and false claims of sympathy in order to get likes. I don't know why, but I recently took a week long deep dive into Madeleine McCann case and the universal opinion is that the parents did it. This would be fine, I completely agree, but the problem is, a lot of these people have made that claim without looking at any of facts of the case, they're just assuming. Which is what happens here. Seeing a character who know is innocent getting slated by the Internet isn't nice to see, but we all know the Internet is a nasty and horrible place.
As much as I loved Searching, I just can't see myself aching to watch it again anytime soon. There's not really a lot to dig out and look for from a rewatch, which is due to the film wrapping itself up in a quite silly and over the top series of reveals which feels completely out of touch with the realistic tone the film went for the first 80 minutes or so. It would have been harder to watch, but a much more believable and bleak ending could have gone a lot further than what we go.
Searching is gimmick film making at its best. It may stumble towards the end, but up until that point it delivers an engrossing and compelling mystery that takes a relevant and believable look at the Internet and social media.
8/10 Dans
Searching is out now in cinemas in the UK
Watch the trailer below:
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