Review of The Missing (2003) by Kenr — 24 Mar 2020

The Missing is certainly a compelling and at times confronting watch, it's set in the South/West in a time and place where such evil practices took place and does not attempt to ‘romanticise’ it’s realistic characters.

Ron Howard’s direction is accomplished, giving us both gruelling and challenging entertainment - filled with exciting authenticity and suspense – unfortunately, being a western, it was difficult to sell to the average movie-going public of its day.

The story by Thomas Eidson has a committed authenticity for the pioneering days of the American West and Ken Kaufman’s screenplay adaption keeps it bristling with tough situations and colourful characterisations.

One problem could be that somewhere, someone allowed it to go on a bit too long--even though it always remains watchable. There’s a particularly exciting sequence that I can understand could end up being rather difficult for some to accept, this involves an ageing Tommy Lee Jones’s character enduring considerable punishment at the hands of his enemies - then mustering up the energy to confront them with some demanding activities.

Failing this, the story has enough elements and twists to intrigue and leave us wondering how the tense situations will play out in the finale. The widescreen cinematography is impressive and there’s a complex James Horner score to add interest.

Performances are convincing, with Jones being perfect as the mysterious Indian outsider (or is he??) and for those who understand near-lost languages, there’s authentic Native American dialogue being used to fine effect.

It’s quite an epic and more suited to lovers of historical character studies.