The Missing Person (film)
Encyclopedia
The Missing Person is a 2009 dramedy
-mystery film
written and directed by American independent filmmaker Noah Buschel
and starring Academy Award-nominees Michael Shannon
and Amy Ryan
. It was first released at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival
and distribution rights were secured by Strand Releasing
, which released it to a limited number of theaters on November 20, 2009
) is an alcoholic private investigator. Suddenly Rosow is given the case of his life when he is hired to tail a man named John Fullmer (Frank Wood
) on a train. Rosow soon discovers that Fullmer is one of the thousands presumed missing after 9/11, and that the Fullmer has fashioned a new life for himself. As the film progresses, Rosow faces the moral decision to take Fullmer, unwilling, back to his wife in New York, or if he will let Fullmer remain in his fabricated life.
as of December 30th 2009. Buschel has been nominated for the 2009 Gotham Award
for Best Breakthrough Director for his work on the film. According to Box Office Mojo
, it has grossed $48,895 so far as of March 2, 2010. It appeared on IFC.com's ten best films of 2009, San Francisco Bay Guardian
's Top Three Films of 2009, and Variety
critic Dennis Harvey's Top 25 films of the year.
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
-mystery film
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
written and directed by American independent filmmaker Noah Buschel
Noah Buschel
Noah Buschel was born May 31, 1978 in Philadelphia and grew up in Greenwich Village.Nominated for Breakthrough Director Gotham Award for The Missing Person .*Writer/Director of Bringing Rain starring Adrian Grenier and Paz de la Huerta...
and starring Academy Award-nominees Michael Shannon
Michael Shannon (actor)
Michael Corbett Shannon is an American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Revolutionary Road...
and Amy Ryan
Amy Ryan
Amy Ryan is an American actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance in Gone Baby Gone and is also known for her roles in the HBO series The Wire, playing Port Authority Officer Beadie Russell; In Treatment, playing psychiatrist Adele Brousse; and The...
. It was first released at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
and distribution rights were secured by Strand Releasing
Strand Releasing
Strand Releasing is a theatrical distribution company founded in 1989 and is based in Culver City, California. The company has distributed over 300 auteur driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Gregg Araki, Francois Ozon, Jean Luc...
, which released it to a limited number of theaters on November 20, 2009
Plot
John Rosow (Michael ShannonMichael Shannon (actor)
Michael Corbett Shannon is an American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Revolutionary Road...
) is an alcoholic private investigator. Suddenly Rosow is given the case of his life when he is hired to tail a man named John Fullmer (Frank Wood
Frank Wood (actor)
Frank Wood is an American actor who has appeared in various television, film, and theatre roles. His most frequent role was performing as Greg in the HBO series Flight Of The Conchords.-Early life:...
) on a train. Rosow soon discovers that Fullmer is one of the thousands presumed missing after 9/11, and that the Fullmer has fashioned a new life for himself. As the film progresses, Rosow faces the moral decision to take Fullmer, unwilling, back to his wife in New York, or if he will let Fullmer remain in his fabricated life.
Cast
- Michael ShannonMichael Shannon (actor)Michael Corbett Shannon is an American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Revolutionary Road...
as John Rosow - Frank WoodFrank Wood (actor)Frank Wood is an American actor who has appeared in various television, film, and theatre roles. His most frequent role was performing as Greg in the HBO series Flight Of The Conchords.-Early life:...
as John Fullmer - Amy RyanAmy RyanAmy Ryan is an American actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance in Gone Baby Gone and is also known for her roles in the HBO series The Wire, playing Port Authority Officer Beadie Russell; In Treatment, playing psychiatrist Adele Brousse; and The...
as Miss Charley - Linda EmondLinda EmondLinda Emond is an American stage, film and television actress.-Training and career:Emond graduated with an MFA from the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington in Seattle...
as Megan Fullmer - Paul Sparks as Gus
- Margaret ColinMargaret ColinMargaret Colin is an American actress. She is known for her role as Margo Montgomery Hughes # 1 on As the World Turns and for her role as Eleanor Waldorf-Rose on Gossip Girl.-Early life:...
as Lana Cobb - Paul AdelsteinPaul AdelsteinPaul Adelstein is an American television and film actor, best known for the role of Agent Paul Kellerman in the television series, Prison Break, and his current role as pediatrician Cooper Freedman in the series Private Practice....
as Drexler Hewitt
Reception and Release
The film has received mostly positive reviews and holds a 67% rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
as of December 30th 2009. Buschel has been nominated for the 2009 Gotham Award
Gotham Awards
The Gotham Awards is an annual ceremony of awards presented to the makers of independent films which takes place in New York City...
for Best Breakthrough Director for his work on the film. According to Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. Brandon Gray started the site in 1999. In 2002, Gray partnered with Sean Saulsbury and they grew the site to nearly two million readers when, in July 2008, the company was purchased by Amazon.com through...
, it has grossed $48,895 so far as of March 2, 2010. It appeared on IFC.com's ten best films of 2009, San Francisco Bay Guardian
San Francisco Bay Guardian
The San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B...
's Top Three Films of 2009, and Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
critic Dennis Harvey's Top 25 films of the year.