Barnes & Noble

The movie western's regeneration continues apace with this Ron Howard-directed opus, a well-acted, suspenseful drama that bears an unmistakable resemblance to John Ford's The Searchers. Like Ford's film, The Missing is animated by the lengthy, dangerous pursuit of Native Americans who have kidnapped a white girl. And like The Searchers' Ethan Edwards (played so unforgettably by John Wayne), the chief pursuer is a taciturn loner with intimate knowledge of his quarry. He's Tommy Lee Jones, playing a half-wild "squaw man" who long ago deserted his family and slaked his wanderlust by traveling with peripatetic Indians. Now older and somewhat remorseful, he attempts reconciliation with his firstborn daughter (Cate Blanchett), a single mother raising her two girls and eking out a precarious living on the edge of the New Mexico desert. It takes the kidnapping of her eldest daughter to unite the bitter woman with her grizzled father, who offers to trail the abductors. Howard's direction is taut; his scenes all have bite, and he maintains a measured pace while slowly building to a crescendo of violence and retribution. A novel touch is the incorporation of Native American mysticism, which is presented as both real and horrifyingly effective. This element brings a bit of the supernatural into The Missing, creating an aura of mystery and uncertainty that may well unnerve attentive viewers. Jones and Blanchett are equally terrific in their portrayals; formidable talents both, each shines in scenes crafted to showcase them individually while working harmoniously in their scenes together. Howard also elicits solid performances from Evan Rachel Wood as the kidnapped daughter and Jenna Boyd as the younger, more resourceful daughter. Aaron Eckhart registers solidly in a sympathetic role as Blanchett's prospective suitor, and Val Kilmer has an eccentric cameo as an ineffectual cavalry officer. Howard borrows not only from The Searchers but from other classic westerns as well, and yet his film doesn’t play like a pastiche of reworked concepts and scenes. It is a cohesive work with a demonstrably individual perspective, and an absorbing contribution to the western’s ongoing renaissance. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Director Ron Howard turns to the Western genre in this tale of a father and daughter who are brought together under difficult circumstances. Samuel Jones (Tommy Lee Jones) is a man living in New Mexico in the 1880s. He had abandoned his family years before to live and travel with a band of Apaches, but his conscience has finally gotten the better of him and he's decided to return home. Jones, however, does not receive a warm welcome upon arrival -- his wife has died and his daughter Maggie Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett), now grown and raising two children with her husband Brake (Aaron Eckhart), has no desire to see the man who left her mother to fend for herself. As Jones prepares to depart on a note of bitterness, a band of ruthless bandits, let by Army deserter Chidin (Eric Schweig), descends upon the homestead, murdering Brake and kidnapping his 15-year-old daughter Lily (Evan Rachel Wood). While Maggie feels no desire to forgive her father, she realizes he's her best hope to track down the criminals who took her child, and Jones and Maggie team up to find the bandits before they can disappear into Mexico. The Missing was based on the novel The Last Ride by Thomas Eidson. Val Kilmer and Jenna Boyd highlight the supporting cast. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 043396149656
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English, Français
• Time: 2:34:00
• Sales Rank: 16,519

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Missing / Quick & the Dead
• Mackenna's Gold / the Missing (2003)
• All the Pretty Horses / Missing

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