Cate Blanchettis one of the world’s premier actresses.Last year’sTárwas yet another blunt-force reminder of her formidable talent and boundless range.Her filmography is littered with wide-ranging gems, and she has worked alongside some of the finest directors doing the rounds, appearing in everything from searing period biopics to chilly neo-noirs. Her first and only appearance to date in a Western comes inRon Howard’s 2003 rousingly scored, slickly shot frontier thrillerThe Missing. An intriguing change of direction for the filmmaker,The Missingis a full-blooded, rough-hewn adventure that pays tribute to the genre’s classical period.
The Missingalso showcases Blanchett at the peak of her powers alongside an equally committedTommy Lee Jones(playing her estranged father). Jones always turns in a powerful performance, and his form in the Western genre is also highly noteworthy (Three Burials Melquiades Estrada,The Homesman) A handful of years after herElizabethsuccess (which garnered universal attention), Blanchett appeared in an array of interesting roles demonstrative of her versatility, andThe Missingprovided her with the chance to do something physically and emotionally demanding within a decidedly different historical setting. The resultant film is a ripping, arguably underrated psychological Western, and it’s up there with Blanchett’s best roles of the 2000s.
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‘The Missing’ Is a Committed Recreation of the Time Period
Ron Howard had a number of high-profile titles to his name by the time he adaptedThomas Hudson’s novelThe Last Rideinto a feature film (renaming itThe Missing). He had zig-zagged from genre to genre and worked with some highly renowned talent over the course of two decades worth of directing after initially starting out as an actor. A common thread of nostalgia appears to flow through his body of work andThe Missingis in some respects a paean to the classics that came before. It certainly contains wondrous landscape shots,David Lean-like in their grandeur, grasping for that ultimate epic feel.
Blanchett had recently wrapped supernatural thrillerThe GiftandLord of the Ringsbefore boarding Howard’s Western thriller, and she brings stoic credibility to Maggie Gilkeson, a struggling mother with two daughters, Dot and Lilly (Jenna BoydandEvan Rachel Wood), to care for and a dutiful boyfriend Brake Baldwin (Aaron Eckhart) whom she opts to keep at arm’s length. She is a battler, doing her level best to provide a comfortable life for her family on the barren plains of New Mexico circa 1885. A medical practitioner, or “healer,” one of the opening scenes grimly depicts Maggie extracting a tooth from an elderly patient. Done with swift precision, it’s as if she finds the grind of her everyday work easier to face than the deeper demons of her past, electing to curb as much emotional expenditure as possible in order to get what’s required done. Blanchett strikes this balance with aplomb.
Forced to be independent from an uncommonly young age, Maggie’s outward toughness veils a deep-rooted sadness for a childhood ostensibly absent of present paternal figures. The commitment to authenticity shared between star and director is on full display quite early as there’s an authenticity to the look and texture of the film. When Maggie’s long-estranged father, Samuel, arrives at the Gilkeson homestead unannounced, some of her long-bottled emotions erupt. Abandoning them at a young age to join an Apache tribe, Maggie’s dormant resentment towards her father comes surging back once more. Maggie’s mother crumbled under the pressure of single-parentage and she was left to lament the father she never knew as a result.
The stillness Jones brings to his fairly complex and unique part adds substantially to proceedings; his presence initially unwelcome, his quest for redemption rebuffed. There’s an undying gruff stubbornness to Samuel, and this preliminary tension created between the two characters serves as the perfect entryway into what would later become an often unsettling rollercoaster that makes skillful use of its scattered, languid silences to break up the action.The Apache language is also used extremely accurately and sympathetically from the get-go, adding another layer of authenticity to a ruggedly mounted picture.
‘The Missing’ Doesn’t Hold Back in Its Tragedy and Darkness
Make no mistake,The Missingis often quite harrowing. Told to be on his way, Samuel leaves the farm upon Maggie’s request, heading off toward the fading horizon. Not long after, Maggie’s eldest daughter (Wood’s precocious Lily) is kidnapped as part of a cross-border trafficking ring by a scarily unhinged, taunting renegade with a penchant for witchcraft named Chidin (a pretty terrifyingEric Schweig) and his gang. Brake is also brutally slain and Dot is found in a state of shock in a lonely thicket. It’s all arrestingly shot and Maggie’s devastation is palpable, her discovery of the horrific scene wrenching. One can only guess how emotionally exhausting the sequence would be to shoot as Blanchett’s haunting cries fill the scene. It’s another daring testament to the performer’s complete and utter emotional commitment to realism. We truly believe at that very moment that Blanchett’s Maggie, in a fit of upheaval and despair, would travel to the ends of the Earth to retrieve her taken daughter.
When Maggie shortly after discovers her father in the next town, she accepts his offer to track those responsible for taking Lily. Together, with a resolute Dot in tow, the trio head cross-country in pursuit of the maniacal posse. Schweig’s villain is truly memorable, the way he imbues the part with a snarky sense of humor renders the fright factor all the more shocking as he uses the venom of rattlesnakes and various incantations to wreak all kinds of havoc on those unlucky enough to cross his path. These elements truly setThe Missingapart as an experience, for it contains as many shocks and scares (for unsuspecting viewers) as any other out-and-out psychological thriller. Peripheral characters enter the fray, as sympathetic and strong-hearted former tribesmen of Samuel join the chase — the attention to detail regarding the Apache language is always on point and unfaltering, serving as a major strength to the narrative.
Stellar Performances Carry ‘The Missing’ Through Its Tense Finale
It’s truly the way Howard captures the interactions between the key characters that gives the film its greatest gravity. Whether it’s the conversations surrounding the real reasons behind Samuel’s newfound motivation for reconciliation, or discussions centered on an encounter with a rattlesnake and the folklore associated with such an injury, the gradual organic reconnection between father and daughter is seldom forced and rarely sappy. The performances during these moments, the overnight interactions as the trio edge closer to rescuing Lily, are pitch-perfect. Sufficient space is afforded, and their slow-healing relationship is never hurried along needlessly. Samuel is a fountain of information when it comes to spiritual medicine, and the practical Maggie’s skepticism gradually begins to wane, accepting the beauty in investing trust in the value of alternative practices when all hope seems to be dissolving. The way Blanchett essays this gradual transformation is subtle and supremely effective.
The last 30 minutes put the audience on a tense ride: there are near-escapes, dust-blown tumbles, and some shocking sacrifices. With suggestions of a family reforming as announced by the inquisitive and forgiving Dot, it’s as if Maggie is fighting not just for her daughter, but for the chance of a deeper reinstatement of family. The movie’s blisteringly shot rescue sequence, which crackles with intensity and artillery fire at every turn, at least matches the levels of excitementachieved byKevin Costner’s excellentOpen Range(released the same year). Initially thwarted, Samuel, battered and bruised, returns with Maggie and Dot to free Lily and the other captors from the horrors of their situation and the eventual fates of one or two of the film’s key characters make for a weepy finale. Maggie, towards the end, having reforged a connection with her father, insists she still can’t forgive him. He replies by saying he is asking her to.
The way the actors and director breathe life into the film makesThe Missingwork on multiple levels. As a rich character study, a throwback Western, and as an eerie supernatural thriller. However, it’s the precision and focus of the key performers that makeThe Missingtruly special.Val Kilmer, a youngElisabeth Moss, andDeadwood’sRay McKinnon(who meets a grisly fate) all show up as well in what’s an all-around inspired cast. For those who enjoy being consistently captivated by the work of its star,The Missing, with its rollicking adventure vibe, grit, and authenticity, is as good as any early 2000s exemplar of the actress' fearless on-screen portrayals.
