The Missing Person (2009)

That was an excellent one.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Alcoholic private investigator John Rosow (Michael Shannon) is hired by Miss Charley (Amy Ryan) to follow a man on a train from Chicago to Los Angeles. The man is traveling with a kid who turns out to be one of the missing presumed dead during 9/11. Rosow has suppose to him bring back to his wife. There are a couple of supposed FBI agents and a woman who sleeps with him but hiding an agenda.This is a meandering hard-boiled private eye story. Michael Shannon is good as this character. It's not terribly intense. There's only so much that Shannon can do with the material especially if he has to do it as a drunk for the whole movie. The style reminds me of some of the 70s attempt to revive the 50s noir. I like that style but the story needs a lot more tension.

Seedy private investigator Michael Shannon (as John Rosow) is hired to find missing husband Frank Wood (as Harold Fullmer). He doesn't hold his liquor as well as the detectives he emulates, but Mr. Shannon manages to find a way in the dark. As you might expect, he has second thoughts about his assignment, and finds himself as well. This is a nicely done "film festival" type - involving but not necessarily entertaining - which does not reflect the films it recalls (Humphrey Bogart is mentioned in the script). Writer/director Noah Buschel and Shannon are fine, but you can always see them working.****** The Missing Person (1/16/09) Noah Buschel ~ Michael Shannon, Frank Wood, Amy Ryan, John Ventimiglia

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.

There is a user comment here that mentions this film as an attempt at classical noir. Not so. It is an art film with surface elements of the noir genre. Probably it would be better off playing at museum than movie theater. At any rate, if you like David Lynch and Robert Frank and Andy Warhol films-- you will love this movie. Michael Shannon delivers his best performance. Finally he is romantic, leading man. The music is amazing. And Joe Lovano shows up to blow sax. The golden, desaturated look fits perfectly with the depressed character and hungover feeling. The best scene has glow in the dark sunglasses in a dark trunk. I wont say anything else.