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'''''Searching''''' is a 2018 American [[thriller film|thriller]] film directed by [[Aneesh Chaganty]] and written by Chaganty and Sev Ohanian. Shot from the point-of-view of [[smartphone]]s and computer screens, the film follows a father ([[John Cho]]) trying to find his missing 16-year-old daughter (Michelle La) with the help of a police detective ([[Debra Messing]]). It is notable as the first mainstream [[Hollywood]] thriller headlined by an [[Asian-American]] actor.<ref>{{cite web|last=General |first=Ryan |url=https://nextshark.com/john-cho-searching-thriller-asian-actor/ |title=John Cho Makes History as the First Asian Actor Leading a Hollywood Thriller in 'Searching' |work=NextShark |date=July 25, 2018 |accessdate=July 29, 2018}}</ref>
'''''Searching''''' is a 2018 American [[thriller film|thriller]] film directed by [[Aneesh Chaganty]] and written by Chaganty and Sev Ohanian.<ref name="SWITCH.">{{cite web|title=SWITCH. &#124; Film review: Searching - Cinematic social media fatigue|url=https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-searching-cinematic-social-media-fatigue|work=SWITCH.|accessdate=9 September 2018|date=9 September 2018|author=Jake Watt}}</ref> Shot from the point-of-view of [[smartphone]]s and computer screens, the film follows a father ([[John Cho]]) trying to find his missing 16-year-old daughter (Michelle La) with the help of a police detective ([[Debra Messing]]). It is notable as the first mainstream [[Hollywood]] thriller headlined by an [[Asian-American]] actor.<ref>{{cite web|last=General |first=Ryan |url=https://nextshark.com/john-cho-searching-thriller-asian-actor/ |title=John Cho Makes History as the First Asian Actor Leading a Hollywood Thriller in 'Searching' |work=NextShark |date=July 25, 2018 |accessdate=July 29, 2018}}</ref>


The film premiered at the [[Sundance Film Festival]] on January 21, 2018, and was released in the United States on August 24, 2018, by [[Screen Gems]]. It has grossed $15 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the acting, screenplay, and visual execution.
The film premiered at the [[Sundance Film Festival]] on January 21, 2018, and was released in the United States on August 24, 2018, by [[Screen Gems]]. It has grossed $15 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the acting, screenplay, and visual execution.

Revision as of 06:57, 9 September 2018

Searching
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAneesh Chaganty
Written by
  • Aneesh Chaganty
  • Sev Ohanian
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJuan Sebastian Baron
Edited by
  • Nick Johnson
  • Will Merrick
Music byTorin Borrowdale
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release dates
  • January 21, 2018 (2018-01-21) (Sundance)
  • August 24, 2018 (2018-08-24) (United States)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$18.3 million[1]

Searching is a 2018 American thriller film directed by Aneesh Chaganty and written by Chaganty and Sev Ohanian.[2] Shot from the point-of-view of smartphones and computer screens, the film follows a father (John Cho) trying to find his missing 16-year-old daughter (Michelle La) with the help of a police detective (Debra Messing). It is notable as the first mainstream Hollywood thriller headlined by an Asian-American actor.[3]

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2018, and was released in the United States on August 24, 2018, by Screen Gems. It has grossed $15 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the acting, screenplay, and visual execution.

Plot

David Kim looks through past videos of his daughter Margot and his late wife Pamela. After Pamela died of cancer, David and Margot's relationship grew more distant, with David having Margot attend piano lessons she no longer enjoys. One night, Margot leaves to be with her study group and does not respond to her father's calls. While David sleeps, Margot calls him three times. David discovers the missed calls the next morning and assumes that she is attending a piano lesson. However, her piano instructor reveals that she canceled lessons six months ago. David discovers that Margot put the money he gave her for the lessons into her bank account and transferred $2,500 to a now deleted Venmo account. He contacts his brother Peter asking about Margot's whereabouts; Peter assumes Margot may have left for a road trip.

David decides to report her as missing. His case is assigned to Detective Rosemary Vick, who asks David to give her more information regarding Margot's behavior. David contacts all of Margot's friends after successfully logging into her Facebook, and finds out that she has no close friends. After Vick finds out that Margot made a fake ID for herself, she suggests to David that his daughter may have simply stolen his money and run away. Despondent, David admits to Vick that he knew nothing about his daughter. David discovers that Margot had a YouCast (video blogging) account, and that Margot frequently spoke to a user called fish_n_chips. Through her various social media accounts, David finds that Margot frequently visited Barbosa Lake and contacts Vick about his discovery.

A search crew is sent to Barbosa Lake, where they discover Margot's car underwater and the $2,500 untouched inside it. David looks through crime scene photos and finds an image of Peter's jacket in Margot's car. He then discovers odd text message interactions between Peter and Margot that suggest there was a sexual relationship between the two. David visits Peter and sets up cameras to try and catch Peter admitting to killing Margot. After a fight breaks out between the two, Peter tells David that the texts were actually about smoking marijuana with each other, and accuses David of being an incompetent father for failing to converse with Margot about her life. Immediately after, Vick calls David to tell him that a former convict named Randy Cartoff confessed in an online video that he sexually assaulted and killed Margot, and committed suicide immediately after. While preparing Margot's funeral on a website called MemorialOne, David coincidentally discovers an advertisement picture that matches fish_n_chips' profile picture. A reverse picture lookup leads him to discover that the picture is a stock photo. He contacts the model of the photo, who does not know about Margot or the case, leading David to believe that the real fish_n_chips may be involved with Margot's death. After trying to call Vick, David accidentally learns that she had actually volunteered for the case. Suspicious, David quickly finds an article that features Vick and sees an image of her with Cartoff. Believing that Vick is involved with Margot's death, David contacts the police and drives to Margot's funeral service after seeing the detective on the funeral live stream. Vick surrenders to the police after they arrive with David.

Vick subsequently confesses that she was involved and is arrested. While being interrogated, Vick reveals that her son, Robert, was fish_n_chips. After befriending Margot using the knowledge he gained from stalking her, Robert greedily asked her for $2,500, claiming it was for his mother's cancer treatments. After Margot followed through with the donation, Robert began to feel guilty about taking the money and decided to give it back in cash. Fearing how Margot would react if he revealed himself to be fish_n_chips in public, he followed her late at night to Barbosa Lake. Robert then entered Margot's car without warning, causing her to attack him in fear; in the resulting confusion, Robert accidentally shoved Margot into a ravine before desperately calling his mother for help. To protect Robert, Vick shoved Margot's car into the lake so no one would find it and forced Cartoff to falsely admit to killing Margot before murdering him. Vick ends her confession by claiming that she made her decisions based on her belief that Margot could not have survived the fall or would have dehydrated, but a recent rainstorm meant she had some water. David and the police rush to the ravine where Margot was pushed, where she is found alive.

Sometime later, Margot is shown to have applied for college to major in piano, with her status as pending. Photos and text conversations between Margot and her dad show that the two have reconciled.

Cast

  • John Cho as David Kim, Pamela Nam's husband and Margot’s father
  • Michelle La as Margot Kim, the daughter of David and Pamela Kim
    • Kya Dawn Lau as 9-year-old Margot Kim
    • Megan Liu as 7-year-old Margot Kim
    • Alex Jayne Go as 5-year-old Margot Kim
  • Debra Messing as Detective Rosemary Vick, the detective assigned to Margot's case
  • Sara Sohn as Pamela Nam Kim, David’s wife and Margot’s mother
  • Joseph Lee as Peter Kim, David's pot smoking brother
  • Steven Michael Eich as Robert Vick, Detective Vick's special-needs son
  • Ric Sarabia as Randy Cartoff
  • Sean O'Bryan as Radio Jockey

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2018.[4] Shortly after, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions acquired distribution rights to the film.[5] It was scheduled to be released on August 3, 2018, but was pushed back to a limited release on August 24, 2018 before opening wide on August 31, 2018.[6][7]

Reception

Box office

As of September 3, 2018, Searching has grossed $8.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $7.1 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $15.3 million.[1]

Searching debuted to $388,769 from nine theaters in its opening limited weekend, for a per-venue average of $43,197.[8] It expanded to 1,207 theaters on August 31, and was projected to gross $3 million over the weekend. It ended up making $6.1 million (including $7.6 million over the four-day Labor Day frame), finishing fourth at the box office.[9]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 145 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Searching's timely premise and original execution are further bolstered by well-rounded characters brought to life by a talented cast."[10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 78% overall positive score.[9]

Accolades

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Searching (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  2. ^ Jake Watt (9 September 2018). "SWITCH. | Film review: Searching - Cinematic social media fatigue". SWITCH. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  3. ^ General, Ryan (July 25, 2018). "John Cho Makes History as the First Asian Actor Leading a Hollywood Thriller in 'Searching'". NextShark. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  4. ^ "2018 Sundance Film Festival: Feature Films Announced". Sundance Film Festival. The Sundance Institute. November 29, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  5. ^ Lang, Brent (January 22, 2018). "Sundance: John Cho's 'Search' Sells to Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  6. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 16, 2018). "Screen Gems Adds John Cho-Debra Messing Thriller 'Searching' To August Schedule". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  7. ^ Pederson, Erik (July 18, 2018). "Sony Moves Tarantino's Manson Pic, Dates 'Zombieland 2' & 'Little Women'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  8. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 26, 2018). "'Why 'Happytime Murders' Reps A Solo Career B.O. Low For Melissa McCarthy In A 'Crazy Rich' Weekend – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  9. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 2, 2018). "'Crazy Rich Asians' Accumulates Wealth Over Labor Day With $116M+ Total; Bigger Than 'The Help' & 'The Butler'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  10. ^ "Searching (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  11. ^ "Searching Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  12. ^ Pedersen, Erik (January 23, 2018). "'Search' Wins Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Film Prize – Sundance". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  13. ^ "'18 Sundance Film Festival - Award Winners". Sundance Film Festival. The Sundance Institute. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  14. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 22, 2018). "'Search's Sev Ohanian Wins Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
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