ashenyoni Review of A Child Is Missing

A Child Is Missing (1995 TV Movie)

gut-wrenching from beginning to end

[9/10 · 3 April 2007]

This movie kept me on the edge of my La-Z-Boy. No joke. Not only does the fine cast of characters consistently deliver poignant performances, the writing and costuming are the best that I've ever seen in a made-for-television film. What sets this movie apart from other Lifetime movies is the incredible subtext:that of loneliness and the quest for fullness. (As an interesting aside, the first recorded use of lonely occurs in Wm Shakespeare's COriolanus.) Generally speaking, as part of an existential crisis,loneliness is comprised of feelings of emptiness and isolation.These feelings pervade a person's psyche and cause him to think that he is suffering from an interpersonal conflict, and shuns all human contact. The man in the woods, in this film, suffers from existential loneliness. Yet he overcomes it to help a young boy, and his problems dissolve at the end of this fine film. Truly, the issue of existential loneliness, its severity, and the ultimate resolution to such a serious problem, embedded within this film will make it a classic for years to come.