The Missing (2003/I)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers (WGA):

Thomas Eidson (novel)
Ken Kaufman (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Thriller | Western

Tagline:

How far would you go, how much would you sacrifice to get back what you have lost?

Plot:

In 1885 New Mexico, a frontier medicine woman forms an uneasy alliance with her estranged father when her daughter is kidnapped by an Apache brujo.

Plot Keywords:

New Mexico | Apache | Grandfather Granddaughter Relationship | Gagged And Bound | Barn

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones	...	Samuel Jones / Chaa-duu-ba-its-iidan
Cate Blanchett	...	Magdalena Gilkeson
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Lilly Gilkeson
Jenna Boyd	...	Dot Gilkeson
Aaron Eckhart	...	Brake Baldwin
Val Kilmer	...	Lt. Jim Ducharme
Sergio Calderón	...	Emiliano
Eric Schweig	...	Pesh-Chidin / El Brujo
Steve Reevis	...	Two Stone
Jay Tavare	...	Kayitah
Simon Baker	...	Honesco, Kayitah's son
Ray McKinnon	...	Russell J. Wittick
Max Perlich	...	Isaac Edgerly
Ramon Frank	...	Grummond
Deryle J. Lujan	...	Naazhaao / 'Hunter'

Also Known As:

The Last Ride (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

137 min | 154 min (extended version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut) | Malaysia:U (cut) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 (certificate 96827/K) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #40119)

Filming Locations:

New Mexico, USA

Company:

Revolution Studios

Trivia:

Tommy Lee Jones, Eric Schweig, David Midthunder and Val Kilmer have all appeared in the Lonesome Dove films. Jones appeared in 'Lonesome Dove (1989) (TV)', Schweig appeared in "Dead Man's Walk (1996) (TV)', and Midthunder and Kilmer appeared in 'Comanche Moon (2008) (TV)'.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end, when Dot takes Lily in her arms and brushes the hair out of her sister's face, Lily's hair goes from brushed back behind the ears to hanging in her face between shots.

Quotes:

Dot Gilkeson: I swear to god I won't stay put.

Movie Connections:

Remake of The Searchers (1956)

very good, suspenseful film

Very reminiscent of 'The Searchers', probably the best of the John Wayne-John Ford teamups, 'Missing' plays better as a thriller set in the West, than as a 'mystical Western' (which is what I think it was really going for). Predictably excellent performances from Cate Blanchett, Tommy Lee Jones, and a fantastic performance from Eric Schweig as the Apache witch doctor. I was surprised to discover the film was mostly dumped on by critics in the US, and bombed there. It's had a much better response here, as I think it should have. Look out also for Evan Rachel Wood, so good in 'Thirteen', as the older of Blanchett's two daughters. This ranks as Ron Howard's best.