“The Missing” (Revolution Studios)
Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones play daughter and father in “The Missing,” a sweeping saga of the old west. This film is Director Ron Howard’s latest effort and it is one of the best movies of the year. Reminiscent of John Wayne’s “The Searchers,” this film concerns a frontier woman who is raising her two daughters on her own. When one of them is kidnapped she has no one to turn to but her estranged father. What ensues makes for moviemaking at its best.
Maggie Gilkeson (Blanchett) is raising her two daughters alone. Lily (Evan Rachel Woods) is the more rebellious one while Dot (Jenna Boyd) is more pliable. Maggie’s husband is dead and the only family she has left is a father, Sam Jones (Jones), who deserted her family when she was a young girl.
Jones comes back into Maggie’s life when he is injured and needs some medical treatment. Maggie is a healer and she helps Sam with his wounds but she does not forgive him with her heart.
They are still estranged when Lily is kidnapped by renegade Indians. Maggie pleads with the Army to do something but to no avail. It is left up to her, and the only other person who can help her is her father. She swallows her pride and enlists him to scout for Lily’s trail.
The film is a complex one that deals with the relationship between Maggie and Sam as well as the one between Maggie and Lily. All three of these people are difficult to read as they have hardened their hearts against letting anyone in.
The acting in the film is brilliant with Blanchett showing once again she is the best and brightest of the new crop of actresses. Tommy Lee Jones hasn’t had a role this good in years and he fills out the skin and soul of Samuel Jones perfectly. Evan Rachel Wood shows real growth in exploring the nuances of her role; and Jenna Boyd is a real find as the admirable Dot.
Howard’s direction is forceful and complete. He never lets the characters take over the story or the story take over the characters. There is a perfect blend. When you add to that Salvatore Totino’s amazing cinematography and James Horner’s haunting musical score, you have it all.
The film is rated R for violence.
“The Missing” is a movie that will absorb your interest and challenge your thoughts. Most westerns are purely action films, but this one is full of action and character study. That is what elevates it into the category of greatness.
Don’t miss “The Missing.” It is a movie to plunge into with all your emotion and with all your intellect. If you thought they couldn’t make another great western, well you were wrong. This one is one of the great ones.
I scored “The Missing” a found 9 out of 10.
