Genre: Mystery Thriller
Channel: Netflix
Language: English
Duration: 111 minutes
Director: Will Merrick, Nick Johnson
Cast: Storm Reid, Joaquim de Almeida, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker, Daniel Henney, Nia Long
Introduction:
Missing (2023), a screenlife mystery thriller is an anthology sequel to Searching (2018).
"Screenlife or computer screen film is a genre of visual storytelling where all the events are shown on a computer, tablet or smartphone screen."
Plot:
Los Angeles (USA) based teenager June Allen's (Storm Reid) mother Grace Allen (Nia Long) leaves for a week long trip to Cartagena (Colombia) with her boyfriend Kevin (Ken Leung).
June is supposed to receive them on their return but not only they don't arrive on the due date but also turn incommunicado, leaving June puzzled, confused and scared.
With limited money at her disposal and only her mother's lawyer friend Heather (Amy Landecker) to turn for assistance, who eventually turns up dead, June uses her smart brain and a bevy of online apps and services to finally locate her mother and in the process unravels few shocking truths about her parents.
Analysis:
It's quite amusing to follow June's trail of online actions wherein she meddles through assorted Google services like maps, e-mail etc.; goes through different chat transcripts to find clues; accesses public cameras to locate her mother's whereabouts; mobilizes the FBI attachment in to the consolate; hires Javier (Joaquim de Almeida), a Colombian gig worker for offline actions, while constantly decoding the passwords of the missing persons on different apps!!
It's quite unbelievable to witness how precisely our life movements are being recorded via our digital footprints and assorted CCTV recordings!!
It's eerie to realize how modern technology and online apps can come to your rescue even when you are confined and locked in an unknown deserted location with no cell phone at your disposal!!
Watch out the movie's climax to see it all happen.
Conclusion:
It's not a movie with glamorous star cast or pulsating action with hi-fi gizmos, but it's an intelligent movie with a reality check.
You will understand it better only if you are - computer savvy, used to working with multiple apps and screens at the same time and aware of the usual password recovery methods.
If you have not yet seen a screenlife movie, then do watch it for an altogether new experience.
You can also watch it otherwise. It's a nicely made film.
