After taking a quick poll (aka asking people what title they found to be the least cliche and picked my favorite title from the most popular choices) the last two options were "Motherly Love" and "Finding Lucas". So, then I took it to Google... and I found out both titles were already titles of books/productions. With a bit more thought and adjustment of my favorite title, I made it a bit more unique: "Seeking Lucas".
When I was doing research, the "best" detective fiction films all had some sort of allusion to the main conflict or crime in the title. Some examples are Seven and Murder on the Orient Express.
Seven plays on the seven deadly sins from the Bible, and links it to a serial killer. The movie follows a detective who is trying to apprehend a serial killer who targets people he feels represents each sin. This makes Seven the best title for the film because it relates to one of the main points of the plot.
Murder on the Orient Express takes place on a train called the "Orient Express" where one of the passengers is killed. Luckily, a detective is on board. It is up to him to solve the crime. This title plays on the main conflict of the film.
While Motherly Love is a great title, I felt it would fit a film in the drama genre more than it would fit a film in the detective fiction genre. Seeking Lucas plays on the main conflict of my film, figuring out what happened to Lucas.
Soon, I will begin to storyboard the opening and begin location scouting as well as casting. More on that coming later :)
Alexa