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The Missing Person

Play trailer Poster for The Missing Person Released Nov 20, 2009 1h 35m Mystery & Thriller Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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67% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 44% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Writer/Director Noah Buschel's third feature, The Missing Person, stars Michael Shannon as John Rosow, a private detective hired to tail a man, Harold Fullmer, on a train from Chicago to Los Angeles. Rosow gradually uncovers Harold's identity as a missing person; one of the thousands presumed dead after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Persuaded by a large reward, Rosow is charged with bringing Harold back to his wife in New York City against his will. Ultimately Rosow must confront whether the decision to return Harold to a life that no longer exists is the right one.
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The Missing Person

Critics Reviews

View All (27) Critics Reviews
Ed Koch The Atlantic The atmosphere of the film is similar to the Ellery Queen detective stories of yesteryear, but the result is not nearly as good. Jan 16, 2018 Full Review Peter Hartlaub San Francisco Chronicle There's a pretty good film if you give writer-director Noah Buschel a chance. The 31-year-old crafts a convincing noir tale, with a sense of realism that makes the experience pleasingly voyeuristic. Rated: 3/4 Dec 25, 2009 Full Review Tom Long Detroit News The real mystery here is how writer-director Noah Buschel talked recent supporting Oscar nominees Michael Shannon and Amy Ryan into doing this movie. Rated: D Dec 18, 2009 Full Review Ray Pride Newcity A knottily plotted detective yarn, more film blanc than noir, it features... Michael Shannon as a 1940s-style detective whose unintentional specialty is finding psychological damage all around him. Sep 22, 2021 Full Review Dustin Chang Floating World The Missing Person says a lot about mutual understanding, fraternity in tragedy. It also says about that there will always be opportunities to make profits off of it. Mar 24, 2021 Full Review Dennis Harvey SF360 The Missing Person arrives at something much more depthed than its neo-noir mystery format initially suggests. Sep 30, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (71) audience reviews
StephenPaul C The greatest 01 hour: and 35 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/26/23 Full Review ronald h "The Missing Person" starts out in Philip Marlowe noir territory (except it takes place in 2009). Much of the film is dark and grainy, and Michael Shannon's burned out private eye Rosow drinks a lot and lives in shabby one room apartment in Chicago. He gets a call from an attorney at 5:11 in the morning, telling him to get on the California Zephyr to L.A. and tail a man who has a young Mexican boy with him. His pay is $500 a day plus expenses. Thirty minutes into the film, I was wondering why it wasn't done as a 1940's period piece. The answer eventually becomes apparent. No spoilers, but it's a pretty good surprise. We follow Rosow to L.A., Mexico, and New York, and the story takes some puzzling twists and turns. We, along with Rosow, can't tell the bad guys from the good guys. A couple of FBI agents show up, and Rosow gets involved with a woman who appears to be a lonely barfly but in actuality is working for someone who's behind the whole scam. The always reliable Shannon is great in this role. I've never seen him give a bad performance. Even though he's a drunk and inscrutably morose, we root for him. Don't expect any action scenes or violent shoot outs. This is a slow burn, more cerebral than sensational. I was surprised to learn that director and screenwriter Noah Buschel was only 31 years old when he made this film. He is mature beyond his years. For jazz fans: In a night club scene late in the film, tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano plays some beautiful moody stuff. Recommended for introspective movie watchers. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review andrei d Incepe bine, se pierde pe la jumate Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie sets the noir atmosphere perfectly, complete with voice-over, faded color palette and wise-cracking dialogue. Unfortunately not everything works here - the aforementioned dialogue feels like it was lifted from a 40's detective novel, and supporting cast is rather weak. What does it in though, is a lackluster plot, which is promising at first, but stats dissolving gradually and more or less falls apart in the third act. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member 86% Aesthetic, easeful, yet brutally honest and typically abrasive film noir. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Micheal Shannon holds the film together with a compelling film noir performance. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Missing Person

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Movie Info

Synopsis Writer/Director Noah Buschel's third feature, The Missing Person, stars Michael Shannon as John Rosow, a private detective hired to tail a man, Harold Fullmer, on a train from Chicago to Los Angeles. Rosow gradually uncovers Harold's identity as a missing person; one of the thousands presumed dead after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Persuaded by a large reward, Rosow is charged with bringing Harold back to his wife in New York City against his will. Ultimately Rosow must confront whether the decision to return Harold to a life that no longer exists is the right one.
Director
Noah Buschel
Producer
Allen Bain, Lois J. Drabkin, Alex Estes, Jesse Scolaro
Screenwriter
Noah Buschel
Distributor
Strand Releasing
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 20, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 27, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$17.6K
Runtime
1h 35m
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