While they're on the trail in a rescue race against time - with Kate's spunky younger daughter (Jenna Boyd) tagging along - inevitably, there's a father-daughter reconciliation as each steps beyond resentment and guilt and learns more about the sacrifices one will make for the other.

Based on Thomas Eidson's 1995 novel "The Last Ride," Ken Kaufman has crafted a multi-faceted screenplay that evokes John Ford's "The Searchers" (1956), despite an emotionally alienating wrong-turn into the eerie supernatural-shaman arena. Cate Blanchett embodies the strong, complex, capable heroine, delivering a richly detailed, Oscar-caliber performance, matched by Tommy Lee Jones' haunting portrayal of the rueful drifter. Working with skilled cinematographer Salvatore Totino, Oscar-winning director Ron Howard ("A Beautiful Mind") relishes his first experience in the Western genre, turning it into a bleak thriller, effectively scored by James Horner ("Titanic"). On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "The Missing" is a stark, suspenseful 7. It's a family drama set against the authentic brutality of the Old West.