A mother’s worst nightmare comes true in upcoming thriller Missing
by chickachunga
If you ever wanted to see Gong Hyo-jin (Jealousy Incarnate) not play a plucky, Candy-like heroine for once, then upcoming thriller Missing may be just the movie for you. And if you want to support two accomplished actresses and a female director doing what they do best in male-dominated Chungmuro, this is also the movie to look out for.
In Missing, actress Eom Ji-won (The Phone, Thrice Married Woman) plays Ji-seon, a single working mom who hires a Chinese nanny named Han-mae, played by Gong Hyo-jin, to look after her baby daughter. One day, her worst nightmare comes true, and her daughter goes missing, along with the nanny. She suspects the nanny kidnapped her child, and she goes on a desperate chase to locate her daughter, her sanity diminishing at every turn.
In the trailer, Eom Ji-won returns home from work one evening and finds her baby and nanny missing. She’s seen running around and calling out her daughter’s name. The guard at her apartment complex remarks that the nanny, Gong Hyo-jin, is a weird woman, and we see her on a bicycle, circling a middle-aged woman pushing a stroller. She knocks over the woman’s groceries as a diversion and shoves the stroller away, sending it rolling, while the woman scrambles to collect the produce that spilled out. A student eyes her with a puzzling gaze, but Gong Hyo-jin ominously brings a finger to her lips, requesting silence. Eom descends into hysterics while searching for her daughter, and the trailer ends with Gong sobbing and wailing.
I’m a fan of both Eom Ji-won and Gong Hyo-jin, but I’m more interested to see the latter shed her sweet, girl-next-door “Gong-vely” image for a darker, more sinister role. Eom Ji-won is no stranger to darker films or the role of the mother; in the movie Hope, Eom played the mother of a sexual assault victim.
It’s a nice change of pace to have neither of the lead actresses playing the romantic interest or sidekick to a male protagonist; Eom Ji-won and Gong Hyo-jin are front and center and driving the film. Not only do we have two A-list actresses headlining, but the writer, Hong Eun-mi (Love Exposure), and director, Lee Eon-hee (…ing), are women as well. I’m all for greater representation of women in film so I’ll be adding this movie to my watch list. Candys are fun and all, but so are deep, complex women, whether good or evil.
Missing will premiere in theaters on November 30.
Via Osen
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Tags: Eom Ji-won, Gong Hyo-jin
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1 earthna
November 24, 2016 at 11:25 AM
Strangely enough, I don't think I've ever warmed up to any of Gong Hyojin's drama characters. I hope this one changes that.
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cat de pinkmon
November 24, 2016 at 11:44 AM
Strange. I think she's the best
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UmbrellaMan
November 24, 2016 at 12:05 PM
She is my favorite korean actress. Maybe seeing her in a darker role will help endear her to you. This role is definitely different than anything she has done before. I am eaderly anticipating thos movie. Let's hope it comes to the States.
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alua
November 24, 2016 at 2:33 PM
Me too. Of all k-drama actresses, she's the only one where I'll watch without checking a) the plot b) co-actors c) director d) writer. I just don't care, I either love what she chooses, or I love her in it, I have yet to be disappointed either with her dramas or films.
If we ever met in real life, GHJ and me, we'd get along splendidly. ;-)
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Kiara
November 24, 2016 at 12:30 PM
I love her movies more than her dramas. Drama land doesn't have these kind of roles for her.
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2 asdfasdf
November 24, 2016 at 11:54 AM
GHJ's movie characters have always been interesting though - it's just that for dramas she just tends to always choose the typical rom coms because she knows they would do well.
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Kiara
November 24, 2016 at 12:33 PM
Right and if people haven't seen her movies they'd think that she is a rom.com girl on the big screen too.
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pogo - sailing HMS Queen of Tears and HMS Sailboat Lovely Runner🍉
November 24, 2016 at 10:33 PM
It's funny because her breakout roles were all melo - Ruler of Your Own World, Snowman, Sang-doo. It's only post-2010 (Pasta) that she picked up the romcom queen title.
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sky
November 24, 2016 at 12:53 PM
^^ True, I first saw her in 'crush and blush', and thought wow the girl is crazy. But then oddly like her role, the whole aura around her was riveting, even the weird character made me root for her. And then there was this another movie where she acted as a smart young women who had no qualms smelling her armpit :S. [I might be describing it wrong too since it have been long time already.] I found the whole scene quite weird, and daring and didn't finish the movie myself. But my point is she always has been playing bold roles or trying different things. So anyway, rom-com isn't definitely the only specialty she should be given credits for.
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alua
November 24, 2016 at 2:37 PM
No, my impression is she chooses roles that are well written in dramas that are well-written & do things a little differently, whether in terms of topics tackled or style (IOIL, Producers, JI).
Unfortunately there are not many good female roles in good dramas to go around.
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fayyyy
November 24, 2016 at 9:57 PM
Exactly. Couldn't have said it better.
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pogo - sailing HMS Queen of Tears and HMS Sailboat Lovely Runner🍉
November 24, 2016 at 10:30 PM
Exactly. She's been known to speak up when she has an issue with scripts, which is why I trust her drama choices more than any other actor in dramaland.
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dopefish
November 24, 2016 at 6:03 PM
I agree that her movie roles have always been interesting and has given great performances in them, like in "Family Ties." However, I think that her drama roles pre-Pasta were just as interesting. I thought that she did very well in "Snowman" handling the complex emotions involved in its controversial topic.
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pompom10
November 24, 2016 at 6:25 PM
Yup2! Her movie selections are quite diverse. She tends to pick unusual and quirky scripts/roles. The most memorable ones for me are:
- Crush and Blush: She was an ugly teacher with blushing cheeks who annoyingly obsessed over her married colleague and formed weird friendship with his daughter because they found out he has affair with another teacher.
- A Bizarre Love Triangle : She played a lesbian woman whose lover married another man for money, bizarre and daring dark comedy about polyamory, indeed.
- Love Fiction : She played a chic muse to a writer (Ha Jung Woo) who faced writer block. She got unique taste of humor and thoughts.
Even if she tends to play similar roles for her dramas, some of them actually brought up interesting issues, too. Thank you (a single mother of a girl with AIDS), IOTL (mental health issues), and recently JI (breast cancer on men, two-timing and a possibility of polyamory).
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pogo - sailing HMS Queen of Tears and HMS Sailboat Lovely Runner🍉
November 24, 2016 at 10:28 PM
YES to all of this, and don't forget Sisters on the Road, where she played a single mother trying to keep her half-sister from finding out their family's big secret. Gong Hyo-jin and Shin Mina were great in that one.
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3 Martin J Simwaba
November 24, 2016 at 12:03 PM
Well, i do miss NaRi but this movie? Okey lets just wait.
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boomboompow
November 25, 2016 at 3:36 AM
So it's Gong Hyo Jin vs Jo Jung Suk on the box office this week!
*crying in the corner since cannot watch both*
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sunnyl
November 25, 2016 at 6:08 AM
also vs Ma-vely Ma Dong-suk's movie. Gong said she feel threatened by 'Ma-vely' first time after 'Choo-vely'(Choo Sa-rang) (for -vely competition) lol
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4 UmbrellaMan
November 24, 2016 at 12:08 PM
On a side note, I have never noticed Gong Hyo-jin's freckles. Have I just been oblivious or have they always just covered them up for her dramas?
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news
November 24, 2016 at 12:26 PM
More like they added them for this role.
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AnKa
November 24, 2016 at 12:30 PM
Same here; I see them for the first time, but I love them! Must be real as she has them on other stills.
Anyways, can't wait to see dark GHJ. IMHO she's awesome in her rom-coms, but I bet her creepy side can be even better.
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신류지
November 24, 2016 at 5:15 PM
The awkward moment when you thought that they were dried blood splatters until you read this comment.... XDD
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UmbrellaMan
November 24, 2016 at 11:26 PM
Don't feel too bad, I thought it was blood at first too, then maybe mud. I had to check the other pictures to see if she had any "splatter" on her face or was it just freckles. Haha
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michykdrama
November 25, 2016 at 1:13 AM
Me too! ?
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prettysup
November 24, 2016 at 10:15 PM
I was wondering about the freckles too!
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5 canxi
November 24, 2016 at 1:29 PM
Wow, it comes out in a couple of days and I haven't heard or seen a thing about it. It looks great.
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6 shhhhhhh
November 24, 2016 at 2:29 PM
I heard Gong Hyojin pushed Eom Jiwon's baby in the stroller and made the middle aged woman (Eom Ji Won's old nanny) get fired... so she plotted to get hired and steal Eom Jiwon's baby from the start :O
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damianna
November 25, 2016 at 3:36 AM
What if the baby is actually hers and eom ji won character adopted her? Hmm...i think it's been done before though. Well I'm intrigued. Hope people sub it real quick. I love love love GHJ.
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신류지
November 25, 2016 at 12:34 PM
Or plot twist: EJW is actually a kidnapper and stole GHJ's baby and is deranged and somehow ended up making herself believe that it's actually hers and GHJ wants the baby back? lol idk I watch too many dramas XDD
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7 elaine
November 24, 2016 at 2:53 PM
The few ending seconds of the trailer with Hyo Jin wailing gave me some intense goosebumps.
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8 goldeng
November 24, 2016 at 2:55 PM
Yay I like the idea of women leaving their mark n the film industry as 'the story' and not devices that lead to romantic cliches.. I like a good romcom but theres something refreshing about projects without love lines and yons of suspense. I like GHJ and always thought she could nail a villain role.. hope she does with this one!
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9 Sara Al-Shaqsi
November 24, 2016 at 3:37 PM
Gong Hyo Jin crying in the end breaks my heart !
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10 elric
November 24, 2016 at 4:17 PM
Scrolling through these posters gave me chills. The accompanying story and the composition of the photos just felt so mysterious and chilling.
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11 kimchikay
November 24, 2016 at 5:08 PM
Ah, this looks really good!
True, GHJ hasn't done darker roles but I did appreciate her as a mother of a child with AIDS - she really honed in with the melo. I don't think I've seen her in anything dark since then so this should be good!
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prettysup
November 24, 2016 at 10:17 PM
Yeah that was her and Jang Hyuk in the classic drama "Thank You". Everyone should watch that.
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Tammie
November 30, 2016 at 11:54 PM
Agreed. She and JH were superb in it. There is a scene near the end when they look at each other - no words spoken, just emotion. It's probably my favorite scene of any Korean drama I've watched. And I have watched a few. ;)
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12 rentenmann
November 24, 2016 at 6:25 PM
OMO, this cast looks awesome! I'm so happy it's November! Now I can look into seeing TWO Korean films, if I can find a theater that will be showing "Hyung" & "Missing" in Florida. Off to look for tickets!
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13 ⭐ Sera The Ms Temper ⭐
November 24, 2016 at 7:39 PM
I just cannot wait to watch this. GHJ's movies are always different as we what we saw her in a drama. SHe is among the actresses that I will watch her in anything.
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14 Ashby
November 24, 2016 at 10:59 PM
This movie looks really creepy and depressing. Kudos to the acting skills of the two actresses and the cinematographer. Honestly, I want to watch to see what the supposed twist is all about but I don't want to start seeing GHJ in a new light! I might not be able to rewatch her dramas after this. I hope someone will post a movie spoiler for this. lol
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15 Karuna
November 25, 2016 at 6:08 AM
GHJ stills gave me goosebumps. Always happy to see her in a movie.
Adding to ht list, she's pretty good in the short film You are more than Beautiful and does a great spot of singing too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZeSuc7Nd4A
PS: Is that freckles or tiny moles - only adds to her charm.
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16 merin
November 25, 2016 at 6:56 AM
GHJ can play the part of a tree in children's play production and I will gladly pay VIP tickets to see her performance. She's that good!! Although I know very little Korean, I'll be flying to Korea to support this movie.
（╹◡╹）♡
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17 mary
November 25, 2016 at 1:49 PM
So is Pyo Na-ri stealing babies for Hwa-shin?
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18 iamgeralddd
November 26, 2016 at 9:18 PM
Expecting a great plot twist in this movie :) Hope it goes well despite the competition with JJS' 'Hyung'.
It's rare to see GHJ plays a villain characters, the only one i can think of is when she played a really quirky odd character in "Crush and Blush". She's always pick an interesting scripts in Movies and tries to goes out of her comfort zone, she's that bold :)
Looking forward to see this one :)
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