By Lauren Shin, Staff Writer
Starring Storm Reid as teenage protagonist June, Missing follows June’s search for her mother and her mother’s new boyfriend when they never return from their vacation to Colombia. The audience witnesses Reid’s story through the screen of her computer, as she creatively utilizes all the latest technology to track down her mother. But as June digs deeper, she begins to encounter more secrets and questions than answers… and with each secret she unravels, she realizes that nobody is who they really appear to be.
This Sony Pictures film is directed by Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick, and created by Sev Ohanian and Aneesh Chaganty, who have worked together to produce other famous films like Searching, and Run. With a strong cast composed of Nia Long, Ken Leung, Megan Suri, Joaquim de Almeida, Daniel Henney, and of course, Storm Reid, the movie promises to be worth the audience’s time.
Having played Meg from A Wrinkle in Time, Gia Bennett from Euphoria, and many other famous roles, Reid precisely encapsulates what it’s like to be a teenager.
From the start, June’s bratty attitude can be seen in her interactions with her overprotective mom. June spends her days lazily, swiftly skipping between apps and tapping away at her keyboard. She frequently leaves on the camera on her computer, allowing us a peek inside her bedroom and the way she interacts with people in real life.
I thought this fresh style of cinematography was really smart and interesting, especially how we could see what June was seeing on her computer screen, like the blurry live feeds from Colombia’s tourist destinations. Teens can further relate to June when we see her messy room, lined with LED-lights along the walls, much like our own rooms. We are also able to see June’s face close up, and her emotions can be channeled through the screen as her face gets closer to the screen and becomes full of worry. The way every scene felt unfiltered made the movie very authentic.
Later when June arrives at the airport to pick up the couple at baggage claim, she stands there waiting desperately for five hours. She returns home to file a missing persons report, and gathers all the help she needs. As she begins to search for her mother, her instincts and years of experience online really kick into gear.
The audience is able to really feel her increasing terror as she tracks down breadcrumbs but then faces barriers every which way, such as when she struggles to communicate with the front desk clerk at the hotel her mom was supposedly staying at, who only speaks Spanish. Every time, though, June cleverly finds a way around the situation to ultimately get her answers. She realizes she can navigate this city remotely with Google Maps and the help of a Taskrabbit-style errand runner for hire named Javi, who becomes her good friend as they help each other through their life problems.
Mitalic Ops, a reviewer on IMDb claims that “ It’s a nail biting thriller despite being in a bedroom for the most part… they managed to create a tech revolving film that’s sort of not boring at all. I expected it to be pretty off the hook type of film and just not having that adrenaline rush sort of feeling but i was TOTALLY WRONG.”
I personally thought the movie was very good; June was a very relatable and likable character, the story was incredibly gripping and full of unexpected plot twists. There were just so many things that happened, all of them a crucial part of the movie, that I could never do justice in this review. I totally recommend this mystery/thriller for anybody who enjoys a good suspense story.
For viewers who enjoyed Searching (2018), Missing is the standalone sequel that further encapsulates the current generation with its unique tech-savvy plot. While Missing was about June searching for her mother, Searching follows a father looking for his missing daughter.