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.
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.