‘The Missing’
The Missing flew under the radar upon its release in 2003 and that’s a real shame because it is easily one of the most interesting Westerns of the past 20 years. Skillfully directed by Ron Howard, the film follows healer Maggie Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett) and her two young daughters, Lilly (Evan Rachel Wood) and Dot (Jenna Boyd), as they try to survive on the dangerous New Mexico frontier. When Lilly is taken by band of rogue deserters, led by the evil witch, El Brujo, Maggie recruits her estranged father Samuel (Tommy Lee Jones, never better here) who left her as a child to go live with the Apache. With stunning photography and an ambitious screenplay, The Missing offers an unusual combination of mysticism and brutality (Aaron Eckhart’s ranch hand gets smoked alive, for Pete’s sake!).