Missing, The MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +3 Content: -3 1/2

Maggie (Cate Blanchett) is a young widow in 1885 struggling to provide for her two daughters in the midst of Indian attacks and harsh winters in New Mexico. Lily (Evan Rachel Wood) is a rebellious teenager, and Dot (Jenna Boyd) is a mischievous younger girl. Maggies long-absent father, Samuel Jones (Tommy Lee Jones), unexpectedly reappears after abandoning his family when Maggie was a young girl. She bitterly refuses his attempt to reconcile. One unforgettable day, her hired hand leaves with the two girls for a day trip to the nearest town, promising to be home before dark. But they dont return. The next morning, Maggie is devastated to find the remains of the ranch hand. Dot is traumatized and hiding at a gruesome, vacated campsite, and Lily is missing and said to have been captured by Indians. In the search for her, Sam and Maggie begin a painful journey of danger, determination, forgiveness and reconciliation. This gut-wrenching film, directed by Ron Howard, will keep viewers on the edge of their seats through 130 minutes of adventure and heart-stopping drama.

Not for the fainthearted, The Missing earns its R rating for excessive, gory violence. A group of Indians and white men has banded together to slaughter men and sell their women across the Mexican border. Dot, accompanying her mother and grandfather, witnesses many of the atrocities and killings. When Maggie and Sam come upon a group of bodies, Maggie insists that they give them a Christian burial. Her strong Christian faith clashes with Sams adopted Indian religion. When he gives Dot a necklace with power to keep her safe, Maggie snatches it away, believing it is demonic. Sam attributes a life-threatening fever of Maggies to the curse of a witchdoctor, who is shown chanting. The ranch hand is implied to be Maggies lover as she invites him into her bedroom one night and they begin to undress. There are some profanities and obscenities, but the frequent killings and vicious fights eliminate The Missings chance for a Preview recommendation.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Sony Pictures