Searching

Shot entirely from the perspective of various computer screens, Searching follows John Cho’s David Kim as he embarks on a frantic quest to find his missing teenage daughter (Michelle La’s Margot) – with the character eventually receiving plenty of assistance from a grizzled yet dedicated detective (Debra Messing’s Vick). First-time filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty does an absolutely fantastic job of instantly drawing the viewer into the proceedings, as Searching opens with a mesmerizing (and surprisingly emotional) credits sequence that paves the way for a progressively engrossing thriller. And although certain aspects of the movie suffer from a distinctly low-rent feel (ie the film is never quite as convincing with its visual gimmickry as the Unfriended series, ultimately), Searching‘s effectiveness grows incrementally over the course of its well-paced running time – with the script, by Chaganty and Sev Ohanian, boasting a series of impressively unexpected twists that effectively ratchet up the suspense on an ongoing basis (to the extent that the picture’s climax is nothing short of engrossing and captivating). It’s clear, too, that the movie also benefits quite substantially from Cho’s thoroughly commanding turn as the distraught protagonist, as the actor does a superb job of capturing David’s frustration with the search as well as his growing realization that he didn’t know his daughter as well as he thought. The end result is a top-notch endeavor that’s certainly more accomplished and entertaining than one might’ve anticipated, with the apparent limitations of the genre hardly preventing director Chaganty from cranking out a pervasively engaging thriller.

***1/2 out of ****