Smartorhypo
Highly Overrated But Still Good
InformationRap
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Lucia Ayala
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
filmalamosa
I feel obliged to write this to warn people--hard to understand the good reviews for this dumb boring movie. Maybe because it is about 911?The story and plot are stupid and full of holes. This movie moves extremely slowly and feeds you no information on what is going on. John Rosow is a NYC cop who lost his wife in 911 (you find this out only about 15 minutes from the end through glacially paced flashbacks)--you know nothing of this (or anything else!) except at the very end. He is hired and paid $500 a day to follow a man named Harold Palmer boarding a train in Chicago.John Rosow is now an alcoholic private investigator working out of Chicago--he was formerly a cop responding to 911. All the 911 connections don't come out until the very end of the movie. His acting consists of squinting and grimacing as much as possible. The movie tries to create a few words 30s detective macho image--with modern sensibilities (PC stuff)--he is sensitive to children etc...Oh yes he gives back the $500,000 he earns from Palmers wife. What kind of a macho detective is that?! The actor gave it his all but he was hobbled by the above-- Harold Palmer turns out to be someone who took advantage of 911 to disappear. People thought he was killed. His rich wife finds out he is alive and wants him back a lawyer wants him to remain missing as a huge insurance settlement has just taken place. Palmer now works taking abandoned children to a Mexico orphanage run by drug dealers. We learn later his own son was kidnapped and killed.The movie is filmed in stark sepia faded colors I guess to reflect the ruined lives of 911...The story is badly written with endless cliché flat lines. It keeps you in the dark...nothing exciting happens..nothing suspenseful...because you don't know what is going on! Oh yes besides the lawyer the FBI are following Palmer due to the drug dealer run orphanage. Wouldn't they squelch the insurance fraud? None of it makes sense. You don't know who is who...who is working for the lawyer? who is calling him on the phone? Worse you don't care after awhile.If a story at it's core makes no sense (the insurance claim) and the FBI the whole things falls apart. In addition this story is dished out in such a slow and confusing way..DO NOT WATCH YOU WILL REGRET IT
yarra1966
The cinematography in this film is phenomenal and the direction is superb and skillful. The Missing Person is ultimately tugs at the heartstrings. The lead character played by Michael Shannon is adequate. I don't think he completely had what the role required - something to draw you in. He plays the role too flat. Unfortunately its what brings down my rating on this film to a large degree. I also felt that the script was way too limited in some dialogue or narration. There's one point where you're watching cars following each other for what seems like hours. I was completely engrossed in the beautiful camera and location work in this film and ultimately - I got it.
picknpen
There is only one spoiler for this movie, and it lies in the fundamental reason for its existence. This is not a noir. I can see how the mistake can be made, due to its laconic style, but there are fairly rigid genre rules which The Missing Person simply does not meet. I kept waiting for the noir to develop, and became impatient until I realized it never would. Shannon's performance, along with the feel and the tone of the film kept me involved during the rough spots (and there are a few). This movie is about one thing: theme. To me, the meandering in the early narrative mirrors the disconnected nature of the protagonist: lost and adrift, sleepwalking through the job, mired in his own drunken alienation.The plot is often clumsy, and the story might have been told better at times, but when you spin through it all, including the almost unbearable chunk of exposition in the NY apartment where Gus and Rosow flesh out the plot machinations, you reach the undeniably powerful realization that this movie is about dealing with life-crushing loss.The question I entertained through it all was: who is the missing person? Initially, it was Fullmer, then Rosow's wife, but ultimately, it was Rosow himself.Not a perfect film by any means, but the final impact redeems it from all the tangential trivialities one has to sort through on the way.Reminded me (in that way) of The Big Kahuna: frustrating at times, but the ultimate payoff makes everything worthwhile.
Sundance Girl
This movie reminded me a bit of James Gray's movies. Simply shot, actor driven, quiet, sincere, and romantic. While "The Missing Person" is much more of an art film than "Two Lovers," I left with the same feeling of having just watched something very personal and very moving. I don't want to give away too much about this movie, but ultimately it is a film about loneliness and being alone. Sound like a downer? It's not. Michael Shannon delivers his best performance yet as a drunk detective who likes to crack himself up with bad jokes(he cracked up the Sundance audience too.) Amy Ryan, Margaret Colin, and a bunch of other familiar faces provide moments of humor and sadness. Mostly what impressed me about "The Missing Person" was that it wasn't hip or clever. And not fancy either. In fact it was almost the opposite of every movie I saw at Sundance. It was mostly just good, honest film-making . Rare qualities indeed in independent film these days.
