 Several critics have concluded that Ron Howard, who rarely misses in selecting his directing projects, has come a cropper with the critics with The Missing, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett. "This is basically a B Western jumped up out of its category," writes Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. "As a lean little oater, this story could have held down half of a double bill back when Westerns were popular, but these days audiences need a reason to see a Western," Ebert writes, implying that there's no such reason here. Michael Sragow in the Baltimore Sun describes the movie as "a bleak and unimaginative portrait of pioneer America" and blames part of the problem on Blanchett. "This is one of those rare Blanchett performances (Charlotte Gray was another) where no acting sorcery ignites and all her effort shows." John Anderson in Newsday blames Howard. "Can Ron Howard make a Western? That'll be the day," he remarks. The problem, adds Ty Burr in the Boston Globe is that "Howard isn't Clint Eastwood. He's Ron Howard, a flagrantly commercial filmmaker, and he's better at other things." Liam Lacey in the Toronto Globe and Mail concludes that the movie is "by turns, needlessly unpleasant for cheap effect and misguidedly heart-warming when it should remain stringent." Strikingly, the major critics appear to be deeply divided on The Missing, with about two thirds of them panning it and another third praising it (albeit with reservations). Michael Wilmington in the Chicago Tribune begins his review by remarking, "Good movie westerns these days may be too few and far between, but Ron Howard's The Missing is almost a great one." Likewise Steven Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer concludes that "The Missing just misses being great." Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times is especially impressed with Blanchett's performance, writing: "The unnerving rawness of her feelings combined with the implacability of her resolve will put your heart right in your throat. You can't ask for any more from an actress than that." Philip Wuntch in the Dallas Morning News comments that the movie "presents Ron Howard at the peak of his directing skills. Yet it's not remotely what his fans expect of him." |
