The Missing Review
by Laura Clifford (laura AT reelingreviews DOT com)November 18th, 2003
THE MISSING
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Maggie Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett, "Veronica Guerin") works the land with the help of her man Brake (Aaron Eckhart, "The Core") and acts as a healer to support her daughters, teenaged Lily (Evan Rachel Wood, "Thirteen") and younger Dot (Jenna Boyd, "The Hunted"). Bad memories are raised when the father, Jones (Tommy Lee Jones, "The Hunted"), whom she hasn't seen since childhood, appears, looking like an Apache. Maggie orders him off her ranch, but when Apaches kill Brake and kidnap Lily, Maggie swallows her pride and seeks out Jones to help her track "The Missing."
The second good Western of the year comes, surprisingly, from director Ron Howard ("A Beautiful Mind"). Adapted by Ken Kaufman ("Space Cowboys") from Thomas Eidson's book "The Last Ride," "The Missing" is a thriller whose story resembles a modernized "The Searchers" with a dash of added mysticism.
When Brake and the girls don't return from attending to their sheep, Maggie sets out after them and makes a horrific discovery. A hysterical Dot tells her that Lily has been taken by a man wearing a hood. The local sheriff (Clint Howard, "The Grinch That Stole Christmas") won't spare a man and the army charged with chasing the kidnappers down are headed in the wrong direction. Maggie, who'd refused Jones's money, offers the pursuit of her daughter instead as retribution. Maggie is determined not to forgive her father, but the duo's courageous rescue mission creates a bond of
understanding.
Cate Blanchett gives a fierce performance as the mother determined to regain her daughter. Her unbendable will and maternal worry are palpable, shaded with a touch of guilt. Blanchett flinches in something approaching shame when she is rebuked by the gramophone on the street outside the sheriff's office, as Maggie had denied Lily a visit to see it, instead insisting the girl accompany Brake and Dot. The Australian actress fits herself out with a frontier accent bred in a midwestern city, although an inexplicable Irish lilt occasionally creeps in. Tommy Lee Jones, actually well cast physically as Blanchett's dad (regard the nose), is quiet and contemplative, but not above some well placed humor, befitting an artist (Jones sketches when relaxing) who has wrapped himself in Indian ways. Jenna Boyd is terrific, giving a complex and natural performance as the little girl who insists on accompanying her elders. Watch her reflect Blanchett's backbone when she firmly states she will not be left behind. Wood, however, is saddled with a victim role, although she quite convincingly projects the petulant rebellion of an adolescent in early scenes. Eric Schweig ("Skins"), made up with teeth spaced like a predator's, is terrifying as Pesh-Chidin, the witch Apache with a black soul. He's nicely countered by Jay Tavare's ("Adaptation") Kayitah, an Apache friend of Jones's seeking the return of his son Honesco's (Simon Baker, "Smoke Signals") new bride. Tavare's stern exterior hides humor and warmth and he appears in the film's second half as a male companion for Jones and to counterpoint Chidin's evil. Max Perlich is sufficiently oily as the white slaver charged with overseeing Chidin's catch.
The story, however, for all its subtleties is guilty of over staying its welcome with one too many foiled rescue attempt. An initial surprise is given away by Dot in what seems a screenwriter's need to fulfill an earlier foreshadowing moment, and the chase continues after Lily has been reclaimed. Still, Kaufman shows a deft hand at letting us fill in the blanks of Maggie's past and her gradual peace with Jones is well earned.
Howard's production captures the grit and hard labor of living in 1885 New Mexico (the first scene features Maggie performing a nasty tooth extraction). Cinematographer Salvatore Totino ("Changing Lanes") creates dark, painterly interiors that explode into bright widescreen vistas, but his focus remains on the characters rather than the landscape. Costume designer Julie Weiss ("Frida") complements Blanchett's figure in earth-hued woolens that look made to last. James Horner's ("Titanic") score is effective and mostly understated, using tribal rhythms sparingly.
"The Missing" seems strangely relevant today in an age of Elizabeth Smart and Amber Alerts. Ron Howard has added a timeless Western to the genre.
B
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