Lost & Found: A Dissection of Searching & MissingBy: Brandon Porter
No event manifests fear and hysteria more than the sudden disappearance of a loved one. No warning and no sense of premeditation. Just a million questions running through your head: Where are they? How could they just up and disappear? and the most important question of all: Why? 2018's Searching and its standalone sequel Missing, released this past weekend, deal with individuals trying to locate loved ones after they disappear without warning. In their attempts to find them, they discover how much was lost between them forcing them to reflect on the decisions they made involving them and their current relationship with them. In this latest porter report, we dive deep into the contextual layers of Missing and Searching's narrative and the transformative arc of the protagonist as they embark on their their quest to recover their missing family members.
There will be spoilers for both films in this post so proceed with caution.
The tragic death of David Kim's wife Pam left a gaping hole in his heart and created an even greater rift between him and his daughter Margot. Though he has tried to move forward following her passing, it is clear there is some internalized pain he continues to struggle with. Sadly, his constant battle dealing with his loss has caused him to inadvertently ignore the similar psychological struggles going on with Margot who is entering high school, a very crucial and stressful period for any teenager. Looking at the patterns following Margot's sudden disappearance, we can see how much was lost between Margot and David. Her willingness to open up to other people other than her father shows how much of a disconnect there is between them. From her interactions with fish_&_chips (later revealed to be the son of Detective Vick) to her smoking sessions with her uncle Peter, this demonstrates how emotionally unavailable David was to Margot at a time when she needed him most. Peter says as much after his physical altercation with his brother:
"Ever since Pam, you stopped talking to Margot about the one thing that's been on her mind the last two years. She needed you to talk to her not the other way around."
Observing some of the additional patterns revealed throughout the movie, it truly is heartbreaking and frustrating to see there were so many indications that David was neglecting Margot's sadness and loneliness because he was so wrapped up in his own problems. The canceled piano lessons, the hoarding of money, her eating lunch alone every day, and the reveal that she didn’t have any "friends" despite her spending time with so many people were all red flags David was oblivious to. David's guilt consumes him hearing these revelations as he states that he truly didn’t know Margot. She was experiencing so much suffering and she had nobody to talk to except a stranger online and her uncle who her dad looked down on. This can serve as a lesson to anyone dealing with grief. Take time to work through your struggles but don't neglect those who are equally suffering. After Margot is thankfully found alive, it is very clear that the relationship between them has strengthened. The last shot of the photo of them shows that they have patched things up and their relationship is all the better for it. Through this tribulation, they recovered something that was lost between them and are prepared to move forward becoming closer than they ever have been before. The same can also be said in a scenario where the roles are reversed.
For June Allen, life has not been the same for her since her father passed away from a brain tumor. The event caused June to become antagonistic toward her mother Grace even more so with her dating her new boyfriend Kevin. This friction creates an emotional rift between them resulting in a strained relationship. June's eagerness to indulge in debauchery shows how much she is trying to mask her sadness toward the "loss" of her father. We see it fall apart when she becomes depressed and gets drunk during her house party on Father's Day. Once her mother doesn’t come home, things start to slowly get revealed. With every revelation comes another that looks like it's going in one direction and then pivots toward another. Kevin's criminal history and pattern of alleged cheating point to him as a potential suspect in Grace's disappearance only for it to subside for a moment when it is discovered that his feelings for Grace were genuine. That feeling doesn’t last once it is revealed that Grace potentially never left LA. The situation becomes muddier when things start to point to Grace as a suspect in her own abduction. As everything comes to a head when the reveal of Jimmy "the church guy" actually being James, June's father alive and well. What I love about this twist is that upon his explanation, it is seen as if Grace is truly the villain in this scenario painting her as a spitful woman trying to keep a father from his child. But once some context is applied by June, the alarms in her head start going off indicating that this isn’t the case. Once June has been abducted herself, the truth comes out.
Grace, whose real name is Sarah, lied to June about James' death for very protective reasons. James' constant nose bleeds were not from a brain tumor but from constant drug use that drastically affected his mental state. As a result, he became violent and abusive toward Sarah, and fearing for her and June's safety, she fled to Los Angeles to start a new life with the help of Heather who assisted in changing her identity. She also confided in Kevin about her situation when he came clean about his criminal history proving he knew about the painful past she was desperate to leave behind. This now paints both Heather and Kevin as tragic victims in a madman's quest for revenge. Sarah's willingness to do whatever it took to protect her daughter at the expense of concealing the truth from her shows true bravery and speaks to so many victims of abuse who go through similar situations. Once everything is revealed to June, she realizes how much she misjudged her mother and how much she sacrificed to keep her safe. In doing so, she finds a newfound appreciation for her mother, and her love for her is rekindled. After the event, much like Margot and David, their relationship is stronger knowing everything they went through to make their way back to each other and they are both better people as a result.
Both of these films may deal with a family member trying to find someone that they lost. But once finding them, they realize they recovered so much more. In David finding Margot, they make the effort to go through the trials of grief together and not fight their internal battles alone. For June and Sarah, June truly sees the lengths that her mother will go to to protect her from the dangers she both can and cannot see. Both families rediscover what is important and become more resilient as a result. It is not until someone is gone that we may truly see how much they mean to us. Take the lessons of these films to heart and apply them to your own life. Cherish your loved ones while they are still within physical reach. You never know what they are going through or the demons they are battling. You may discover that in your "search" for what was "missing", you will "find" more than what you thought was there before.
