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by Renee Vorbeck Published: January 13, 2006
“Missing in America” starts off on a small chicken farm in the middle of the Pacific Northwest. The location is so in the middle of nowhere that you don’t even know if you have neighbors and if you did, you may not have met them. The first scene pans around Jake Neeley’s (Danny Glover) world. As you follow the camera, all you see is how worn down the farm looks, then enters Neeley, who looks as worn down as the property. He starts walking in that old classic worn out old man walk (we all saw it in the seventies with Sanford and Son and Archie Bunker). Jake has a dog that is so worn out that you never see it standing up. Even the truck is on its last oil change and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a funnel duck taped before. Does anyone see a change a coming? Formula? Here enters the change. An old Vietnam military buddy, Henry Hocknell (David Strathairn) leaves his daughter, Lenny (Zoe Wetzebaum, "Memoirs of a Geisha") with Jake because he is the only one in the whole world that he trusts with his daughter. This is your first clue that everyone in this movie is a bit out of touch with reality. Henry had not seen Jake in over 30 years and Jake did not even recognize his old buddy and held him and his daughter at gunpoint until he could remember. That did not stop Henry from leaving his daughter without any warning. The Lenny character, half Vietnamese preteen, represents the hope for the movie. Jake, and it seems many others ex-Vietnam Vets, have escaped to the Pacific Northwest region to forget or hide from their Vietnam War demons. Lenny, and her innocence, represented all the children in Vietnam. This became a hot button with the ex-vets. Even Jake began to have nightmares of a time thirty years before when he had to make a tuff decision that still-haunted him. Despite the topic of war, there were lots of lighthearted moments in this film. The whole cast deserves kudos for their performances. An extra kudo, goes out to Mr. Glover and Miss Wetzebaum whose performances were worthy of an Oscar Nod. I loved Linda Hamilton as Kate. She ran the old general store in town and sought refuge from a past she was trying to forget. I would have enjoyed having her role expanded on, especially her scenes with Glover. Linda and Glover scenes together were like pulling off a sex scene without sex. It was a little tricky but they pulled it off with a little tongue-in-cheek. Ron Perlman, as Red, was an ex-vet who could not talk but though body language spoke volumes. In the movie, he adds the element of hatred and that is always not well received. As I watched the film, I thought, “if only he could talk”. Then again, if he could talk, would he have brought home the drama? I enjoyed this film a lot and I have tears to prove it. The story gave me a comfortable familiar feel with enough surprises, which allowed me to be drawn into the movie. The tears were not pulled out of me, but rather flowed naturally. Don’t you just love a good heart-felt film that brings you to tears? If so you’ll love this film. This DVD gave me the extras that I’ve come to appreciate: Deleted scenes, Alternate ending, director commentary, and out takes. Previews on this disc included: “Missing in America”, "My Date With Drew", "Emmanuel’s Gift”, and “Prince and Me 2”. |
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