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The Missing (Full Screen Edition) | Year: 2003 Classification: Drama Directed: - Ron Howard Actors/Actresses: - Tommy Lee Jones - Cate Blanchett - Evan Rachel Wood A Gritty Western With a Solid Story When I first saw this film, I was blown away by it. Overrall it was a great film:Great performances, Great directing and a great story. Though the first 30 minutes are rather slow, once the film picks up, it is a splendor. Cate Blanchett pulls off yet another great performance as a fronteir medicine woman desperate to rescue her daughter and go through all means to. Tommy Lee Jones delivers yet another flawless performance as a father who abandoned his family and converted to the Apache Indian's culture and religion and come back long after to his daughter for forgiveness.The performance I liked particularly was the role of the girl, Dot. I cant recall the girl's name who played her but she gave a powerful supporting performance. The only thing that really displeased me about the film was the negative reviews toward it. I dont understand why there was so many who didnt like this film, but oh well. can't please everyone. All in all, this film is worth a rent and even worth a buy, though I'd recommend seeing it before buying it. I saw this in theaters and bought it the day after it came out on dvd. I can't really say that if your Western fan that this is for you, but I cant say that if your not that it is either, so just see it for yourself and be the one to judge. Two hours of unrelenting Violence Ron Howard has borrowed freely from the plot of John Wayne's classic movie, The Searchers, to create a brutal and gory western drama. Tommy Lee Jones stars as Samuel, the long-absent father of frontier healer Maggie (played by Cate Blanchett). Seeking a reunion, he rides back into her life on the barren plains of New Mexico in 1885. Maggie's teen-angst-ridden daughter is kidnapped by Indians to be sold in Mexico, and Maggie and Samuel set out to bring her back. <BR> <BR>This film certainly can create a mood: The frozen desert landscape kept me uncomfortably cold, and the endless cruelty on the part of the Indians was intense and gut-wrenching - too much so, for me. Jones is outstanding as the man who just didn't want to be married, and deserted his family long ago. His expressive face and twangy voice are just right. Cate Blanchett is an odd choice for the erstwhile heroine, but she is also excellent as the tough and unflinching mother. The main baddie is so convincingly and hideously played by Eric Schweig, that I could barely watch when he was on the screen. I must say the film is well written and directed, but it was just way too violent for me to consider it "entertaining." If you liked The Searchers, you may like this film, but be warned it earns its R rating with graphic brutality. LONG DAY'S JOURNEY Ron Howard's THE MISSING is a blend of western, action and supernatural ingredients. Having the marvelous Cate Blanchett as Maggie catapults the picture into its worthiness. Blanchett is exceptional as Maggie, a single frontier mother raising two feisty daughters (played wonderfully by Evan Rachel Wood and Jenna Boyd), while maintaining an affair with the affable Brake (Aaron Eckhart, always good). Her estranged father shows up one day and it's obvious Maggie has little affection for him. Tommy Lee Jones plays the father, with his usual swagger and rugged machismo. His performance is good, but he is overshadowed by Ms. Blanchett.<BR>The movie has a cruelty to it, in that Eric Schweig as El Brujo is a heartless and cruel man, perhaps even a witch?? His treatment of the girls he kidnaps is brutal and inhumane, so this adds a very dark edge to the film.<BR>The photography is sumptious, and the music appropriately moving. The film tends to bog down at times, and it's length at over two hours doesn't help. Overall, though, THE MISSING shows the talent of a very determined director and a wonderful gifted actress. That makes it worth viewing. Buy The Missing at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Missing Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Missing This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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