Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- visceral
- bleak
- foreboding
- western night
- historical thriller night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's direction, acting, and forceful western atmosphere while finding its storytelling unsubtle.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Samuel Jones returns to Maggie's life, and their forced partnership gradually confronts years of estrangement while they search for Lilly.
The production uses Chiricahua Apache dialogue, with performers learning the dialect and emphasizing its cultural specificity.
Maggie and Samuel track Maggie's kidnapped daughter through nineteenth-century New Mexico while facing an organized criminal threat.
The New Mexico wilderness and open frontier terrain frame the rescue journey and amplify the characters' exposure to violence.
Films like The Missing, and why
The Searchers
shared revisionist western setting, grim frontier violence, moral complexity, and determined pursuit of abducted family
True Grit
shared western thriller structure, unforgiving landscape, child endangerment, and themes of familial redemption
Unforgiven
shared harsh western atmosphere, brutal violence, damaged protagonists, and morally difficult frontier justice
Prisoners
shared kidnapping thriller premise, relentless pursuit, family trauma, and emotionally intense performances
Movie Details
- Director
- Ron Howard
- Release Date
- 2003-11-26
- Runtime
- 135 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (717)
Cast
- Cate Blanchett
- Tommy Lee Jones
- Evan Rachel Wood
- Jenna Boyd
- Aaron Eckhart
- Val Kilmer
- Eric Schweig
- Steve Reevis
- Jay Tavare
- Simon Baker
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Missing about?
- An estranged frontier doctor and her returning father must overcome old wounds to rescue her kidnapped daughter from a brutal New Mexico criminal.
- What is The Missing like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Missing as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Missing violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Missing as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Missing?
- Critics broadly praised the film's direction, acting, and forceful western atmosphere while finding its storytelling unsubtle.
- Which films are like The Missing?
- Films with a similar feel include The Searchers, True Grit, Unforgiven, and Prisoners.
- How long is The Missing?
- The Missing runs 135 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Missing?
- In United States, The Missing streams on Howdy Amazon Channel.
