Everyone knows that Ron Howard is a great director.
In fact, he might be one of the best directors in
Hollywood today, not to mention his clout as a
producer. He has brought us cinematic gems,
like: "Apollo 13", "A Beautiful
Mind", "Willow", and
"Cocoon". Alas, he has also brought
us cinematic nausea, such as:
"Ransom", "Far and Away", and
"Gung Ho". "The Missing"
falls somewhere between his very good work of recent
and his very bad work of the past. It isn't
exactly a bad film, but is too clichéd and
formulaic to be too enjoyable. I just expect
more from Ron Howard.
Cate Blanchett is the star of the film. She
plays Maggie Gilkeson, a frontier doctor not unlike
Jane Seymour in "Dr. Quinn Medicine
Woman". She lives in a cabin with her two
daughters (Evan Rachel Wood and Jenna Boyd), her
ranch hands, and her on again off again lover Brake
(Aaron Eckhart). Tommy Lee Jones stars as
Samuel Jones, Blanchett's father, who wanders onto
the ranch after having abandoned his family years
prior to become an Indian. Blanchett loathes
Jones and sends him away. However, while out
on a run, Blanchett's daughters and lover are
attacked by Apache slavetraders and her eldest
daughter is kidnapped, to be taken to Mexico and
sold. Blanchett and Jones then set out to
track down and rescue the girl, while also trying to
mend their broken relationship.
Every aspect of this film is predictable -- we see
it coming a mile away. We know the girl will
be rescued and we can pretty much point out who is
going to die, as soon as we see them. I hated
the way in which the film turned into a politically
correct film about the plight of the American
Indian. "Dances with Wolves" was a
much better film in this genre. And, what was
with the girl who was kidnapped, Evan Rachel Wood?
By the time she was rescued, everyone in the theatre
was ready for her to just go ahead and die.
She was cruel, ignorant, and completely selfish and
I could not feel one shred of sympathy for her.
Both Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett do fine jobs
of bettering mediocre material, but even Jones looks
a little ridiculous at times whispering chants and incantations.
I know that is the point -- a white man trying to be
an Indian -- but I caught myself giggling a couple
of times. Val Kilmer was a nice cameo as the
Army general, but he looks like he has gained fifty
pounds. He looked more like John Goodman than
Val Kilmer. But, the gentleman who portrayed
the Apache Witch was exquisite -- one of the best
villainous performances of the year; and, he might
be the ugliest man alive today.
"The Missing" is missing a whole hell of a
lot, so it is not one of those movies where one
element spoils the whole thing. This is one of
those movies where the ending leaves you feeling
cheated and upset, even though you had predicted it
halfway through the film. Alas, the film is
watchable, if not solely for the cinematography and
the gloomy, frontier feel. Blanchett is also
getting better and better as a leading lady, and she
is the new Meryl Streep. So, you can wait
until video for this one and can rest assured you
won't miss a thing. Skip this at the cinies
and go check out "Bad Santa" or
"Master and Commander".
