Searching is the new thriller directed by Aneesh Chaganty. Widowed father David Kim (John Cho) searches for his missing teenage daughter (Michelle La) with the help of multiple laptops and hard-talking detective Rosemary Vick (Debra Messing). All the action takes place on screens; the mystery unfolds through texts, FaceTime, YouTube and video blogs.

While some may have their doubts about watching what is essentially a filmed set of screens for nearly two hours, this unusual set up soon feels natural. After all, many of us spend a lot more than two hours without looking away from a screen in our daily lives.

The portrayal of familiar online habits on the big screen is cleverly used for comic effect. The constant rewriting of messages and the replacement of the jovial exclamation mark for the famously passive aggressive full stop is fully relatable and funny to watch. Some of the visuals are also arresting because they are taken out of their familiar context. Most notably, David’s screen saver is transformed into an enormous malignant jellyfish when shown without the borders of a laptop.
The clever parallels between the title, Searching, and the extensive use of search engines (particularly Apple’s “Finder”) throughout the film invite us to look at how we use the internet. Google asks us to “Search Google or type URL,” but when the missing object is a person rather than the answer to inane questions, these words take on a much more frightening currency.

Searching maintains a fantastic tension throughout the search for Margot. The contrast of the horror of the situation and recognisable ordinariness of the technological format is extremely effective in unsettling the audience.

The twists are truly chilling. By the end, there are perhaps just too many wrenching turns, which slightly dents the believability of the film. This is the only thing stopping Searching from getting a solid five-star review. It is a wonderfully sharp, brutally tense and inventively shot thriller that shows the blossoming possibilities of technology in film.

I was not expecting this to be as intense as it was. Like, it was _Taken_-level intense, and the main character never really gets more involved in the search than browsing his daughter's search history.

If you were to strip away the "all told through a computer screen" aspect, it would just be a mediocre _Taken_ rip-off with no action. Instead, the viewer is forced to see only what our main character sees (minus the news broadcasts), leaving a lot more room for the audience to piece together clues from anything and everything shown on a screen (and there are a LOT of seemingly innocuous hints sprinkled masterfully throughout).

The storytelling is smart and so well done, especially the last fifteen minutes. Telling the story through various screens is more than just a gimmick; it elevates the story and connects us closer to this struggling dad (who almost doesn't feel like a character thanks to John Cho's great acting). The sense of dread hanging over the movie feels real, and I almost forgot I was watching a movie at some points.

If you like thrillers, even just a little bit, don't let this one fall to the bottom of your watchlist. Go see it.

Searching is a mystery thriller film shot from the perspective of our main characters computer screen. In most movies of this nature, this is done as gimmick and does not feel natural in the story telling. But here, the technology is seamlessly integrated into the story where the two are inseparable. John Cho does an excellent job of being the lead here. His emotional connection with his daughter is a driving force of the plot and the turmoil he goes through in discovering that the connection he has with his daughter was all on the surface is superb. The unknowns surround our leads daughter creates so much tension and mystery as we are trying learn about the character along side the father. The editing is top notch here as the story maintains a very coherent progression while balancing multiple windows and views of the computer screen. There were plenty of twists in the story, some worked well and others fell flat for me. The movie does a little bit too much at the end, but overall was great.

Score: 79%
Verdict: Great

Searching blew me away even though I saw it after Run, Aneesh Chaganty's later feature, and having heard and read everything about how similar Mahesh Narayan's c u soon is. The intensity of the plot, its unpredictability, and the conviction of the characters are what stood out for me in this unconventional thriller that is also so relatable and real. Watch it right now if you haven't. **8 stars**.

Definitely the best use of this format I've ever seen. I also picked a lot of the mystery ahead of its reveal, but not everything! And I like it when I can't pick everything. John Cho is an absolute champion, and _Searching_ genuinely met my expectations.

_Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time._