It might be easy to dismiss "The Missing Person" as a derivative film that tries to cash on the noir genre. Staying with it will pay off, even though it is an uneven picture, only saved by the mood and the atmosphere director Noah Buschel created for his audience. The film delves into a story that is logical and it makes one wonder how many other cases like the one at the center of the story have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous people trying to cash in a truly American tragedy.
John Rosow tells us in the opening passages about the only thing that made him become involved in this mystery was because he answered a telephone call. Little did he know he was going to be drawn into an intriguing tale following a man that, for all practical purposes, has been proclaimed dead. When he is made an offer he cannot refuse following Harold Fullmer to Los Angeles from Chicago, he has no idea what he will become involved in.
Harold Fullmer was supposed to have died on the 9/11 attacks to the World Trade Center in New York. What nobody knows is that he has survived the tragedy and has decided to get a new life away from his past. Harold decides to save young children that have been abused against their will. He brings them into a Mexican town where a shady character is supposed to see they are returned to their innocent lives before they were made victims.
Noah Buschel, the creator of the film, has gone for style and mood, rather than a plausible story. One can only questions Fullmer's vision about the good deeds he is supposed to be doing. Turning the damaged children he is supposed to be saving to a man whose morals leave a lot to be desired, does not speak well of his sense of justice. The character of John Rosow recalls a cross between other screen sleuths, mainly Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, to mention just two. The enigmatic Charlie, a peripheral minor player is also an enigma. Ultimately John Rosow's role in that fatal attack is revealed and his motive of siding with Fullmer is clearly understood.
Michael Shannon makes an impressive Rosow. This young actor keeps getting better all the time. He is an actor that takes a while to get used to, but he delivers big time as the complex man that has also suffered a great loss. Amy Ryan has a small role as Charlie. The excellent Margaret Colin serves as a distraction for Rosow in Los Angeles while his investigation is in full swing. Frank Wood looks catatonic most of the time in his take of Harold Fullmer.
John Rosow tells us in the opening passages about the only thing that made him become involved in this mystery was because he answered a telephone call. Little did he know he was going to be drawn into an intriguing tale following a man that, for all practical purposes, has been proclaimed dead. When he is made an offer he cannot refuse following Harold Fullmer to Los Angeles from Chicago, he has no idea what he will become involved in.
Harold Fullmer was supposed to have died on the 9/11 attacks to the World Trade Center in New York. What nobody knows is that he has survived the tragedy and has decided to get a new life away from his past. Harold decides to save young children that have been abused against their will. He brings them into a Mexican town where a shady character is supposed to see they are returned to their innocent lives before they were made victims.
Noah Buschel, the creator of the film, has gone for style and mood, rather than a plausible story. One can only questions Fullmer's vision about the good deeds he is supposed to be doing. Turning the damaged children he is supposed to be saving to a man whose morals leave a lot to be desired, does not speak well of his sense of justice. The character of John Rosow recalls a cross between other screen sleuths, mainly Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, to mention just two. The enigmatic Charlie, a peripheral minor player is also an enigma. Ultimately John Rosow's role in that fatal attack is revealed and his motive of siding with Fullmer is clearly understood.
Michael Shannon makes an impressive Rosow. This young actor keeps getting better all the time. He is an actor that takes a while to get used to, but he delivers big time as the complex man that has also suffered a great loss. Amy Ryan has a small role as Charlie. The excellent Margaret Colin serves as a distraction for Rosow in Los Angeles while his investigation is in full swing. Frank Wood looks catatonic most of the time in his take of Harold Fullmer.