In Honor Of David Fincher’s New Film “Gone Girl” Which Stars Ben Affleck, Here’s Our Top 5 Films About Missing Persons
Having the main character look for another is a pretty straight forward plot that has been in dozens of films over the years. At this point, a missing person is only interesting if you can use a plot twist that no one is expecting and or cast a very good actor.
David Fincher's upcoming film "Gone Girl," which stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, has both of those elements plus an award winning director, so it only seems right that the film already has plenty of Oscar buzz. In honor of the upcoming thriller, here's our top 5 films that contain missing people.
#5 "Changeling" (2008)
"Changeling" which earned three Oscar nominations,involves a missing child (as opposed to "Gone Girl" which involves a missing wife) that the police claims to have found, but the mother (played by Angelina Jolie) is adamant that the child they bring to her is not hers. Without spoiling the rest of the film, the result is a critically acclaimed film that earned Jolie an Oscar nomination and mothers everywhere wondering what they'd do if their only child ever disappeared.
#4 "Saw" (2004)
Admittedly, this psychological horror film isn't exactly about the hunt for missing people, rather, two guys who are missing as they try to find their way out of a bathroom that they've been trapped in by Jigsaw, the serial killer who creates contraptions for his victims to fight their way out of as a testament to their restored will to live. It's torturous, but it was a newly fresh horror idea that lead to a highly successful horror franchise.
#3 "Winter's Bone" (2010)
This film, which features a girl searching for her missing father through the tough terrain of a small town rampant with dangerous drug dealers. There's a couple of different things that make this film great (it did eventually earn four Oscar nominations) but it's a film that's carried by Jennifer Lawrence. This is arguably the breakout dramatic role (Besides "The Hunger Games") that earned the actress all the buzz that lead her to be one of the most wanted actresses in Hollywood.
#2 "The Chaser" (2008)
This film came in high on this list particularly because of how action packed it is. Not to mention, it's still amazingly entertaining even as I have to read subtitles since the native language is Korean. Hongjin Na is one of the best genre filmmakers from South Korea and with this film he's at his absolute best. The story has some comedic elements but sustains a level of intensity that keeps you on the edge of your seat as a cop/pimp searches for a missing prostitute who he suspects has been kidnapped by a serial killer.
#1 "Taken" (2008)
"I will find you, and I will kill you," is a line from "Taken" that became so popular it now has it's own internet meme. Liam Neeson stars in this thriller about the hunt for his missing daughter who is kidnapped on a trip to Europe. It's action packed, there's fantastic acting on Neeson's part, and ultimately the film raised awareness about sex trafficking, which makes for an amazing cinematic experience.