The Missing Person

Released Nov 20, 2009

1 hr. 35 min.

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

List

67%

27 Reviews

Tomatometer

44%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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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

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Noah Buschel

Director

Michael Shannon

John Rosow

Amy Ryan

Miss Charley

Frank Wood

Harold Fullmer

Linda Emond

Megan Fullmer

Paul Sparks

Gus Papitos

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Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes

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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

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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
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

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