Searching (2018)

After his teenage daughter goes missing, a desperate father tries to find clues on her laptop.

Director:

Aneesh Chaganty

Writers:

Aneesh Chaganty, Sev Ohanian

Stars:

John Cho, Debra Messing, Joseph Lee

6 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cho	...	David Kim
Sara Sohn	...	Pamela Nam Kim
Alex Jayne Go	...	Young Margot (5 yrs)
Megan Liu	...	Young Margot (7 yrs)
Kya Dawn Lau	...	Young Margot (9 yrs)
Michelle La	...	Margot
Joseph Lee	...	Peter
Dominic Hoffman	...	Michael Porter
Sylvia Minassian	...	Mrs. Shahinian (voice)
Melissa Disney	...	Isaac's Mom (voice)
Connor McRaith	...	Isaac
Colin Woodell	...	911 Operator (voice)
Debra Messing	...	Detective Vick
Joseph John Schirle	...	Jonah Emmi (voice) (as Joseph K. Shirle)
Ashley Edner	...	Margot's Friend #1 (voice)

Storyline

After David Kim (John Cho)'s 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today: his daughter's laptop. In a hyper-modern thriller told via the technology devices we use every day to communicate, David must trace his daughter's digital footprints before she disappears forever.

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Plot Keywords:

internet | social media | father | missing person | father daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

David Kim's daughter is missing. He can't find out where she is until he finds out who she is.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic content, some drug and sexual references, and for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

In real life, there is no Barbosa Lake or Barbosa Ravine near Gilroy, CA. The 152 hwy also has another direction than shown on Google Maps in the movie.

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Goofs

While at his brother's house, David announces that he has to go to his car for a minute. In the hidden camera footage from the living room, both of David's hands are out of his pockets, but in the footage from the kitchen (which is supposed to be simultaneous), his right hand is somehow in his pocket.

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Quotes

David Kim: I didn't know her. I didn't know my daughter.

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Connections

Referenced in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: The Best Movies of 2018 (2018)

User Reviews

Searching: I'm not crying you're crying

When Searching was initially annouced I was excited, a John Cho straight role and in that unique presentation style? Count me in, this was on paper destined to be something special.

Sadly whenever I hype a movie up like this they tend to fall flat, but not Searching. No, no Searching lived up to my high expectations and the John Cho movie demonstrated that this is one of those guys like Ryan Reynolds and Will Smith who truly can do it all.

The whole movie plays out through pc windows and camera footage. Yes it has been done before with the likes of Unfriended (2014) but they took the concept to the next level here and it works considerably better than you'd imagine.

John Cho delivers an emotional tour de force with some of the best written material I've seen in years. It's so clever, so intricate and just when you think you've got it all figured out another spanner is thrown into the works to make you re-evaluate everything you've seen so far.

As I'm getting older I'm becoming a harsher critic because I've seen everything before. Movies like Searching reaffirm my faith in the industry, it's fresh, it's fascinating and doesn't fall for any of the usual Hollywood tropes.

By far Searching is the best film I've seen in a longtime, a true unconditional triumph and I applaud everyone involved. Outstanding!

The Good:

Very unique cinematography

Powerful performance by Cho

Incredibly smart writing

The Bad:

Nothing springs to mind

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

There is hope for Hollywood yet

John Cho is one of the most underappreciated actors in the industry

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA Russia

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 August 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Searching

Box Office

Budget:

$880,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$388,769, 26 August 2018

Gross USA:

$26,020,957

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$75,462,037

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Gems, Stage 6 Films, Bazelevs Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1