Synopsis for Missing Child
Missing Child is a film about GIA, a young woman in her early 20s, with a tormented past. As a young child, Gia grew up under foster care where there were several instances of sexual abuse from her foster father. Furthermore, her own background regarding her natural parents has been a mystery to her. She was told that she was found in a motel room, at the age of three, abandoned, and that her real mother was most likely a drug addict.
The lack of stability affected Gia as she grew into her teen years. She left her foster family and ventured out on her own. She made various attempts to find information about her natural parents but has always come up empty-handed. In these years, Gia gravitated towards unhealthy situations and abusive relationships. She dealt with substance and sexual abuse issues which led to experiences with prostitution and pornography.
Now, in her 20s, Gia has removed herself from seemingly harmful environments. She finds support from her friend DEBBIE, a woman in her 30s with a young child of her own. Debbie acts as somewhat of a surrogate mother to Gia. She encourages Gia’s interest in fashion design and helps Gia prepare to enroll in college to pursue her newfound career goal.
Gia also explores an interest in her spiritual side. She enjoys attending church activities with Debbie and finds comfort in the solitude of prayer.
Despite this enthusiasm for her new professional goal and her budding spirituality, something is amiss in Gia’s life. There is still an emptiness and a curiosity regarding the identity of her natural parents. Gia finds herself in a relationship with a man, JOE PHELAN. Though he gives her a feeling of security and protection, it is Joe’s current part-time profession as a bounty hunter that interests Gia most. She hopes that with Joe’s expertise, he will be able to help her find her true family. Joe’s attempts to find information about Gia’s family history yield no results.
Debbie is concerned about Gia’s new liaison primarily because Joe is twenty years senior to Gia, and she worries that Gia is drifting into yet another destructive relationship. Debbie also notices that Gia’s interest in returning to school has diminished since she became involved with Joe. She persuades Gia to continue the application process for student housing for the upcoming school semester. Just as Gia prepares to do so, Joe informs her that he might have found her real parents. He shows Gia a missing child listing that displays an age-progressed photo of a young woman resembling Gia.
Gia is in disbelief. She is torn between letting her past go and venturing off to a new chapter of her life. Gia seeks counsel from Debbie. When she sees Debbie’s own son, NOAH, in the safety and protection of a loving home, she turns a deaf ear to Debbie’s advice. Gia is determined to follow Joe’s lead and to begin a journey to discover whether or not Joe has truly found her family.
After a day long drive, Gia and Joe get to the home of HENRY WHITTLE, a man in his 60s. After some uncomfortable small-talk, Gia asks Henry about his own missing child. Henry tells the story of his daughter, Elizabeth, and how she was kidnapped almost twenty years ago. Henry explains that many people have come around claiming to be or to know about Elizabeth, but none of these claims were ever found to be true. Though Henry seems complacent about the incident at this point in time, it’s clear that it is still an unsettled matter to him. He is curious about Gia and is cooperative in her search for information.
Henry shows Gia around his home. He brings her to Elizabeth’s room. It is here that Gia sees another photograph of young Elizabeth. In this picture, Gia observes a discrepancy from descriptive information that Joe had shown her earlier. She becomes disheartened by her discovery though she does not share her thoughts with Henry.
Gia takes a walk with Joe to express her doubts about the situation. She is in near tears and her only wish is to abort the mission to find her family. Joe is considerate of Gia’s feelings. He tells her not to be too impulsive in her decision to give up. He expresses his belief and hope that Henry may, in fact, be Gia’s father.
Henry takes a liking to Gia. He invites Gia and Joe to stay for dinner. Joe encourages a reluctant Gia to accept the invitation. During dinner, Henry and Gia try to determine whether or not they are father and daughter. It becomes clear, however, that Joe‘s motivation and intention may be something other than helping this distraught father and missing child.