A mystery that is not really a mystery at all, The Vanishing of Sydney Hall, is the story of the high school writer Sydney Hall whose writing content is rather controversial among his peers.
Sydney Hall (Logan Lerman) is a teenager dealing with the things that every other teenager may face, except that he writes a bestselling novel based on the death of a fellow classmate that brings him immediate fame and renown. He is thrown into this spotlight and because his book is controversial in subject matter, he is faced with the many criticisms and opinions. In the beginning, everything was great until he is at a book signing and meets a young reader who changes his life forever.
Sydney’s love interest Melody (Elle Fanning) was introduced as a socially awkward girl, who lives across the street from Sydney and his family. She loves Sydney’s writing but hides from him every chance she gets. Initially, the two play a game of cat and mouse that later leads them to dating and then marriage. But this character dynamic much like most of the film is filled with joy, pain, mystery, and tears. It is only when the darkness of the book intertwines with their personal lives that things fall apart and Sydney “vanishes”.
Kyle Chandler plays The Searcher who is on a personal journey in search of the real Sydney Hall who he traces by a string of bookstore and library arsons across the country. He is on this journey for a year before he catches up to Sydney and meets the author face to face. The two share an innate connection based on mutual admiration and in the end the legacy of Sydney Hall is left in the hands of The Searcher.
The film tackles a dense subject often overlooked in society and is nothing short of a tear-jerker.
The movie has a limited theater release on March 2, 2018
-Trivinski Taylor
