The Missing: Extended Cut stars Cate Blachett as Maggie, a hard-edged doctor living in the wilds of New Mexico and struggling to raise her two daughters in a time when women stayed at home and cooked, not ran a small ranch while tending the sick. Her eldest daughter Lily (Evan Rachel Wood) has visions of being a refined lady and seeing the sights of world, while mom just wants to keep her grounded and on the ranch. One day, a dusty loner who appears to be an aging Indian blows into town, seeking the medical attention of the local physician. The stranger, played by Tommy Lee Jones, happens to be none other than Maggie’s estranged father, Samuel Jones, who abandoned Maggie and her pregnant mother when she was a young child. Needless to say, Maggie is quite bitter but cares for his wounds, instructing him to leave early the next day. Fate intervenes, however, and during an outing to care for the calves, Lily is kidnapped by an Indian mystic who sells young girls into prostitution in Mexico. The local law can’t seem to help, and the soldiers can’t stop looting long enough to realize they are going the opposite direction as the Indians with his victims in tow. Eventually, Maggie must team up with her father if she is ever to see her daughter again. Fortunately, Sam Jones left his family to live with the Indians, so he is the perfect choice to track down the kidnapper.
While this sounds like a pretty basic story, what goes on is quite scary as the kidnapper, along with a group of Army deserters and a few other Indians, is taking young women from all over the area and killing anyone who gets in the way. He tears people’s hearts out and leaves snakes tied to trees, practicing strange rituals as he commits his heinous crimes. It is interesting to watch Lily’s journey as she turns from frightened child to strong woman bent on surviving this ordeal. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the story and this one definitely won’t disappoint.
Special features includes some nice little gems like director Ron Howard’s home movies filmed when he was a teenager, along with a number of “Ron Howard On…” featurettes describing Howard’s take on everything from westerns to John Wayne to filmaking in general.
Although there is a good bit of violence in this film, so it is not one for the kiddies, the Extended Cut does contain an additional 17 minutes of film not seen in the theatrical release. If you are looking for a movie with sweeping cinematography, an amazing soundtrack, an excellent storyline and a great ending, along with a slew of features just perfect for fans of Ron Howard, this is one to add to your collection.
