KID’S TAKE ON MOVIES
After David Kim (John Cho)’s 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened, and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the one place no one has looked, where all secrets are kept today: his daughter’s laptop.
In a hypermodern thriller told via the technology devices we use every day to communicate, David must trace his daughter’s digital footprints before she disappears forever.
This new drama/thriller grabbed my attention since the beginning, because of its amazing and unique storyline.
I felt thrilled to discover what would happen at the end and whether or not the outcome would be what I expected. It is very entertaining, because the film gives the audience an opportunity to be detectives for a moment and try to solve the very unique mystery in the film.
The story focuses on David, who enjoys watching his daughter Margot grow up while posting pictures and videos of her to social media. As Margot enters her teenage years, however, she starts to grow apart and seem distant from him. Then, one day she disappears after telling her father she was going to a study group.
David looks on the internet to try to find clues about where she may be. Her friends don’t seem to know much.
My favorite scene is when David starts to get desperate and brainstorms ideas about how to find his daughter. This leads him to search her computer to find answers to her whereabouts. This scene is meaningful because it is the moment he starts to realize, although he doesn’t admit it, that he truly does not know his daughter at all.
When he opens her laptop, it is as if he is entering unknown territory, and we see the distance between him and Margot. He was very close to her while she was a child, but as soon as she hit the teenage years, she became a stranger.
The important message in this film is that better communication between family members will improve the dynamics of the family.
For example, in the beginning of the movie, the reason for Margot’s disappearance is unknown and that leads to the suspense and mystery of the storyline. But, let’s say — hypothetically — that Margot disappeared on purpose because she was dealing with a problem and didn’t feel her dad could help her.
If parents, especially those raising their children alone, communicate and interact better, they can help their kids through the tough times — and then kids realize that running away is not their only choice. I recommend this film for ages 13 to 18 as well as adults, and I rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars.