Synopsis
When rancher and single mother of two Maggie Gilkeson sees her teenage daughter, Lily, kidnapped by Apache rebels, she reluctantly accepts the help of her estranged father, Samuel, in tracking down the kidnappers. Along the way, the two must learn to reconcile the past and work together if they are going to have any hope of getting Lily back before she is taken over the border and forced to become a prostitute.
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Cast
- Cate BlanchettMaggie Gilkeson
- Tommy Lee JonesSamuel Jones
- Evan Rachel WoodLilly Gilkeson
- Jenna BoydDot Gilkeson
- Aaron EckhartBrake Baldwin
- Val KilmerLt. Jim Ducharme
- Eric SchweigPesh-Chidin / El Brujo
- Steve ReevisTwo Stone
- Jay TavareKayitah
- Simon BakerHonesco, Kayitah's son
Recommendations
- 88
Chicago Tribune
Good movie westerns these days may be too few and far between, but Ron Howard's The Missing is almost a great one. - 80
Time
As for Blanchett, she's simply wonderful. She has played her share of queenly figures, but her acting essence is, emotionally speaking, plain-Jane. She's a straight shooter, with an uncanny ability to find a character's spine and communicate it without fuss or feathers. - 75
Premiere
Howard’s inclination toward graphic, gruesome violence, reminiscent of Ransom’s grisly denouement, The Missing is, at its core, a story well-told and built upon the solid foundation of Blanchett’s supremely capable performance. - 75
ReelViews
Does not surpass Kevin Costner's "Open Range" for the title of Best Western of 2003, but it's a worthy effort and makes for an enjoyable (if slightly overlong) two-plus hours. - 70
Variety
Ron Howard has never before made a picture this raw and alive. At the same time, this tale of the desperate pursuit of the kidnappers of young women makes for a fundamentally grim and unpleasant experience. - 63
Charlotte Observer
The only thing they don't take time for is characterization, which the story badly needs. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
This murky, thriller-tinged Western has the terrain down cold -- from the wide-open spaces to the rocky vistas -- but beneath all the requisite genre trappings there's a vast, empty gulch where the affecting dramatic element should have been found. - 60
Film Threat
The performances are great, the chemistry between the two leads is very good, and Ron Howard again proves himself a slick hand behind the camera. But like a lot of these power-packed pictures, there’s just something missing.
