the audience applauded

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Neo-noir is the grandchild of film-noir which basically was an expressionist creative output that started to fade as an artistic style in the late 50's. Neo-noir style films come in all sorts of forms. This one is an homage in the truest sense. It isn't some sort of underlying influence with a modern panache, it is a bare bones portrayal of a man out of time.His time is when film noir flourished. A time when you could smoke where you wanted, coffee was made in a percolator on a stove, alcohol was carried in a flask, cops patrolled in cars (not some two wheeled foot extension), phones had a cord attached, and a listening device was a stethoscope.But our hero has been engulfed in some kind of post 911 time warp, sucked into a nether world where everything is slightly off center . It's a tale of mistaken preconceptions, jazz, and a big cash payout. A good looking retro feel and an incredible, twisted face, lead performance make this a fine homage and a grandchild worth loving.

Michael Shannon is one of the finest new character actors working in films today; his performance here as a private investigator from New York, hired to trail a middle-aged man from Chicago to Los Angeles by train, is the centerpiece of "The Missing Person"...and is very nearly the entire show. Writer-director Noah Buschel was probably hoping to modernize the old private eye clichés (including booze, broads, and blaring saxophones on the soundtrack), but his movie doesn't really start cooking for at least a quarter of an hour into the proceedings. Buschel's pacing is deliberately slow, and Shannon's John Rosow is intentionally beleaguered and burnt-out, yet there's no reason to be so poky with this narrative (even Bogie livened up earlier on one of his cases). The film is well-produced and shot, though it runs the risk of losing viewers before it starts to take shape. Once it does, it becomes a rather fascinating throwback, its scenario seesawing between the old and new--like Philip Marlowe in the cell-phone era. **1/2 from ****

Writer/Director Noah Buschel is a name we will likely recognize more as audiences who missed the theater release of this very quiet moody piece discover it on DVD. In many way this story and cinematic recreation of the story reminds us of the old dark Bogart mysteries - in tone of telling, in filming gestures, and in the casting. It is a true 'film noir' revealed slowly and insidiously in tones of umber, gray, and washed out colors so prevalent in the early color films and so additive to this production. For this viewer it works on every level. Private Detective John Rosow (Michael Shannon in a brilliantly understated performance) is a down and out, alcoholic, internalized and bruised man who is hired to shadow a man from Chicago to Los Angeles. Rosow seems to be easily manipulated by his 'boss' Gus (Papitos) and sidekick Charley (Amy Ryan), but when Rosow reaches Los Angeles he discovers that the man he is trailing - Harold Fulmer (Frank Wood) - is delivering a young Mexican boy to one Don Edgar (Yul Vasquez) who seems to be running an orphanage for lost kids to either sell to adopting parents or manipulate otherwise. He is sidetracked by an agent Lana Cobb (Margaret Colin) but with the help of a taxi driver Hero (John Ventimiglia) he finally finds his targeted Harold who insists that he is a lost man, a man who only wants to remain missing to help people like the young Mexican who was an unwanted boy to find some degree of happiness. Rosow reports his findings, and surprisingly is told that Harold wife Megan (Linda Emond) will pay a huge sum of money just to retrieve her missing husband. It seems Harold has been missing since 9/11, but instead of dying in that explosion Harold escaped and decided the world needed help- the only way he felt he could deliver it was to leave behind his wealthy wife and lifestyle and simply do good, anonymous deeds. Rosow meets with Megan, gets the money, but in doing so Rosow must relive the fact that he has lost his wife and world as a result of 9/11, changing his priorities of how to end his assignment: does he turn over Harold and take the small fortune or does he follow his heart? He does the right thing. Though the story is a strongly told mystery thriller it is first and foremost a story about the loss and disorientation that have paralyzed so many people following 9/11. The beauty of THE MISSING PERSON is the message that in many ways we are all 'missing persons' now. How we elect to deal with that is the part of the story we individually must complete. Michael Shannon enters the ranks of significant film actors with this deeply touching role. This is a little film that deserves a very wide audience. Grady Harp

This movie reminded me a bit of James Gray's movies. Simply shot, actor driven, quiet, sincere, and romantic. While "The Missing Person" is much more of an art film than "Two Lovers," I left with the same feeling of having just watched something very personal and very moving. I don't want to give away too much about this movie, but ultimately it is a film about loneliness and being alone. Sound like a downer? It's not. Michael Shannon delivers his best performance yet as a drunk detective who likes to crack himself up with bad jokes(he cracked up the Sundance audience too.) Amy Ryan, Margaret Colin, and a bunch of other familiar faces provide moments of humor and sadness. Mostly what impressed me about "The Missing Person" was that it wasn't hip or clever. And not fancy either. In fact it was almost the opposite of every movie I saw at Sundance. It was mostly just good, honest film-making . Rare qualities indeed in independent film these days.