Missing

I am a fan of the screenlife genre of storytelling where most of the action takes place on computer or smartphone screens (such as Searching and Profile) so I have been looking forward to the latest installment Missing.  I finally had a chance to see it last night and I really enjoyed it.  June Allen (Storm Reid) is worried when her mother Grace (Nia Long) does not return home from a week-long trip to Colombia with her new boyfriend Kevin (Ken Leung).  She files a missing persons report with the FBI but encounters a lot of red tape so she decides to investigate herself by using all of the technology she has at her disposal and by hiring Javier (Joaquim de Almeida), a freelance worker based in Colombia.  She comes to suspect that Kevin is involved in her mother's disappearance when she discovers that he has a criminal record and a history of conning women but then she learns that her mother may not be who she says she is.  This was so much better than I was expecting because, even though it is a bit far-fetched, the central mystery had me on the edge of my seat with some twist and turns that I did not see coming.  The technology that is used has been upgraded in this movie (the footage from the home security cameras is especially unsettling and the use of live-streaming brings tension and immediacy to the narrative) and I liked having an eighteen-year-old as the protagonist because her navigation (and hacking) of all of the different apps and programs feels very organic.  I also liked the relationship between a rebellious daughter and an overprotective mother because it raises the emotional stakes and also informs what happens later on.  The performances, pacing, and editing are outstanding because they kept me engaged during the entire runtime.  This is another movie that is better than what we usually get in January and I recommend it.

Note:  I am now going to change all of my passwords and disable the camera on my laptop!