Missing (1982)

Missing (1982)
Director: Costa-Gravas
Cast: Sissy Spacek, Jack Lemmon, John Shea, Melanie Mayron, David Clennon, Joe Regalbuto
Memorable Line(s): "If you weren't personally involved in this unfortunate incident, you'd be sitting at home - complacent and more or less oblivious to all of this. This mission is here to protect American interests."

*Underrated and Overlooked*
Missing is a largely forgotten movie, but it really shouldn't be because it is a powerful movie which tells a story that was went quietly ignored by the world as the events of the plot unfolded in reality. It's not a feel good movie, but one that is moving and should be a must see for thinking movie goers.

The Plot of Missing
Charlie Horman (Shea) and his wife, Beth (Spacek) are young and idealistic searching for some truth in Chile during a turbulent time in the countries history. While they think they were making a difference, they are really dilettantes playing in dangerous water way above their heads. Charlie fancies himself a writer and stumbles upon information that he shouldn't know and comes up missing.

The story really gets going when Charlie's father (Lemmon) comes on the scene to find his son and carrying his own blinding sense of idealism. He immediately sees his daughter-in-law as a left-wing reactionary who's meddling caused his sons disappearance. But the more he looks, the more he learns that their our forces at work behind the scenes that must be investigated if he is to find what happened to his son.

We not only get to see the story of the search for a son, but also the unveiling of a country being dismantled and a people disenfranchised from their own rights by a powerful military coup while both father and wife search without much hope.

The Performances, Writing, and Direction of Missing
Both story telling and performances compliment each other perfectly in this movie. Costa-Gravas balances a tenuous beam between giving us a political perspective on oppression and how the U.S. aids and abets these acts in their interest along providing us an emotionally compelling story of the conflict between generations and how they can learn to respect each other against the backdrop of an epic tragedy.

All the performances are spot on including all the supporting characters. Spacek shines in her role, but the real stand-out is Lemmon. He shows the right combination of pride and ignorance when he first appears, but also portrays an man evolving as his eyes are opened. He also is spot on showing us a man's anguish at the disappearance of his only child.

This is a first rate script. We get to know the characters intimately and know their frustrations and struggles. Costa-Gravas' script also uncovers the unwinding of a political mystery without becoming too pedantic or didactic.

The other added element that enhances the story telling is Vangelis' haunting score.

Summary Judgment on Missing
Missing tells a layered story with many angles. One layer is intricately political and is completely compelling on it's own, but the director knows that true hook is the emotional bonds are between father and son and husband and wife. Costa-Gravas walks the tight-wire of telling us both the individual tale of this family along with unveiling a truth that we all should have paid a lot more attention to, but ignored.