The Missing Person

Overly fussy and self-conscious in its noir details. But in The Missing Person, Buschel makes striking use of the Mike Hammer/Philip Marlowe tradition.

Rising star Michael Shannon makes a riveting shamus hired to chase a runaway husband in the quiet but resonant little noir The Missing Person.

Despite honoring noir genre conventions, Buschel also draws upon his fertile imagination in dialogue and in storytelling that allows his film gradually to accrue meaning.

It’s Shannon’s slow, steady world of hurt that makes the film watchable.

Shannon’s performance takes The Missing Person as far as it goes, but when a real-world tragedy commandeers the story, Buschel’s thin pastiche falls to pieces.

A low-key mystery that's initially engaging but ultimately lacks sufficient intrigue to sustain interest.

The film has been gesturing toward a profundity that isn't there.