The Missing
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| The Missing | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Ron Howard |
| Produced by | Brian Grazer Ron Howard Daniel Ostroff |
| Written by | Thomas Eidson Ken Kaufman |
| Starring | Tommy Lee Jones Cate Blanchett Evan Rachel Wood Jenna Boyd Aaron Eckhart Val Kilmer |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Cinematography | Salvatore Totino |
| Editing by | Daniel P. Hanley Mike Hill |
| Studio | Revolution Studios Imagine Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 26, 2003 (USA) |
| Running time | 137 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Spanish Apache |
| Budget | $65 million |
| Box office | $38,364,277 |
The Missing is a 2003 Western thriller film directed by Ron Howard, based on Thomas Eidson's 1996 novel The Last Ride. This Western thriller set in 1885 New Mexico Territory is notable for the authentic use of the Apache language by various actors, some of whom spent long hours studying it. The film was produced by Revolution Studios and Imagine Entertainment and distributed by Columbia Pictures.
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[edit] Plot
Set in the late 19th-century New Mexico, Samuel Jones (Tommy Lee Jones) reappears hoping to reconcile with his adult daughter Maggie Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett). She is unable to forgive him for abandoning the family and leaving her mother to a hard life and early death. This situation changes when Pesh-Chidin (Eric Schweig) and a dozen of his followers who have left the reservation pass through the area, ritualistically killing settlers and taking their daughters to be sold into the Mexican border. Among those captured is Maggie's eldest daughter, Lilly (Evan Rachel Wood) and Maggie's rancher and boyfriend Brake Baldwin (Aaron Eckhart) was among the settlers killed.
The U.S. Cavalry refuses to help retrieve the captive women as its resources are tied up conducting forced relocation of captive Native Americans. This leaves Maggie, her father, and the younger daughter Dot (Jenna Boyd) alone in tracking the attackers. The group unexpectedly meets up with Kayitah (Jay Tavare), a Chiricahua, and an old friend of Jones, who also happens to be tracking the attackers with his son Honesco, because among the captives is a young Chiricahua woman who is engaged to Honesco. After the two agree to join the group, and Maggie treats Honesco's injuries, Kayitah informs Maggie that Jones had been a member of their Chiricahua band where he gained the name Chaa-duu-ba-its-iidan (translates as “shit for luck”) during his wanderings.
It is finally with the combined efforts of the two families that they are able to free the women at the cost of Kayitah's life and immediately flee to the mountains with the kidnappers behind them. Knowing they have no other choice but to stand their ground, the group fights off the remaining kidnappers including Two Stone (Steve Reevis) and during the battle, Jones fights El Brujo, the one responsible for kidnapping his granddaughter, Lilly. When Brujo attempts to kill Maggie with a pistol, Jones sacrifices his life to save his daughter as both he and Brujo fall off a cliff to their deaths. Next, Maggie shoots the last remaining kidnapper Naazhaao (Deryle J. Lujan) to death. She realizes her father's love for her and finally forgives him.
[edit] Main cast
- Tommy Lee Jones - Samuel Jones/Chaa-duu-ba-its-iidan
- Cate Blanchett - Magdalena "Maggie" Gilkeson
- Evan Rachel Wood - Lilly Gilkeson
- Jenna Boyd - Dot Gilkeson
- Aaron Eckhart - Brake Baldwin
- Val Kilmer - Lt. Jim Ducharme
- Sergio Calderón - Emiliano
- Eric Schweig - Pesh-Chidin/El Brujo
- Steve Reevis - Two Stone
- Jay Tavare - Kayitah
- Simon R. Baker - Honesco
- Deryle J. Lujan - Naazhaao, the Hunter
- David Midthunder - Happy Jim, Apache scout
- Clint Howard - The Sheriff
- Ray McKinnon - Russell J. Wittick, photographer
- Max Perlich - Issac Edgerly
[edit] Reception
The film earned mixed reviews from critics, earning it a 58% rating on Rotten Tomatoes by calling it: "an expertly acted and directed Western. But like other Ron Howard features, the movie is hardly subtle." The Missing was a box office disappointment, grossing only $38 million worldwide on a $65 million budget.
[edit] External links
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