The movie Searching directed by Aneesh Chaganty and starring John Cho (known best for his  depiction of Harold in the “Harold and Kumar” franchise) is one of the greatest suspense films I have ever seen. It is a roller coaster ride of intrigue, false leads and deception delivered in a masterful way.

The beginning of the film wastes no time in pulling at your heartstrings through its introduction and depiction of the Kim family: David (Cho), Pamela (Sara Sohn) and their daughter Margot (Michelle La). The movie uses an emotionally powered introduction in order to make you care deeply for the characters in a short amount of time. It does this job marvelously as you follow the family through ups and downs that eventually lead to tragedy. After this tragedy befalls the Kims I could not help but feel a sense of sadness and pity for the family as the rest of the film feels to be a result of that tragedy, how the characters deal with it and how it shapes them.

As the film continues we bare witness to a variety of small events, that lead up to the inevitable disappearance of Margot. This is the focal point of the movie which leads the audience to wonder: what happened to her, who is responsible for her disappearance, did she run away, or is she even  alive? However it is not just us seeking these answers, as David is also wondering the same thing about his daughter. As the search for Margot grows even more intense we observe an interesting change in David’s personality from straight laced good guy to a man willing to do whatever is necessary to find his daughter.

John Cho performs the role brilliantly; showing he is not just a master of making you laugh but a master of making you feel emotions of pity, helplessness and tension. This is amplified by small hints and clues throughout the narrative about what might have happened to Margot. These clues, give the person who is ultimately responsible for what happened to Margot a lot of credibility, however if these hands weren’t left behind by the writers the ending and reveal of the main villain would definitely have felt like lazy writing; but thanks to the film taking time to characterize even the smallest character, it makes complete sense and is handled brilliantly.

Searching is an amazing film and definitely one I highly recommend seeing.  I would give this movie a ranking of 10/10 and is a must watch for anyone who loves suspense films.