Knowing

 

Knowing 2009

Director: Alex Proyas

Writers: Ryan Douglas Pearson, Juliet Snowden and Stiles White

Starring Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne, Lara Robinson, D.G. Maloney, Nadia Townsend and Alan Hopgood

 

    When I first saw the trailers to this film, I thought it looked like another botched abortion like Next.  But, then I saw it was directed by Alex Proyas, a director who I have always enjoyed.  So, when it hit DVD I thought I would give it a chance.  And, I am glad I did this was a smart, end of the world type of science fiction film.  Cage is very good in this and doesn’t go into his hammy overacting he tends to do in some cases (and yes Wicker Man I am talking about you).  He is anchored by a solid cast and a great story that keeps you enthralled to the ending.  The ending too is not a copout like the horrendous ending of Next was.  It is both hopeful and bleak and it is one of those that makes you think about the film for a while after you watch it.  A nice difference compared to the usual explosion driven science fiction of Roland Emmerich and Michael Bay.

    The plot basics are this, it is the fall of 1959 and a school is getting ready to bury a time capsule for 50 years, but there is this girl in the school who is having strange visions.  Before it is dropped into the ground the teacher of this little girls class wants all the children to draw a picture of what they think the earth will be like then and the little girl just seems to be writing down numbers frantically.  They entomb the capsule but the girl is missing and the teacher finds her hidden in the cellar writing numbers on the wall in blood soaked fingers.  We flash forward 50 years and the capsule is being unearthed.  We meet John Koestler (Cage) a teacher who is a widower with his son Caleb (Canterbury).  When the capsule is unearthed Caleb gets the paper that the little girl is writing and now he begins to hear thins and see strange people.  His father takes a look at the page and figures out that all the numbers relate to disasters that have happened in the last 50 years and sees that it is predicting future imminent disasters and now John is trying to warn people of these while trying to ensure the safety of his son.

    This was a really good film.  Proyas direction as always is great, he really sets up the tension during the disaster scenes and the way he tells the story you never know what will be happening next.  The script is very smart, one of the smartest science fiction stories I have seen since Gattaca.  The ideas in the film is brought forth soundly and really challenge your thought processes as you experience the film.  The ending of the film is at the same time both bleak and hopeful.  Never an easy thing  to pull off.  The cast is great, Cage does a great job as a struggling single father and a distraught widower.  Byrne is also very good as the potential love interest.  I also thought Canterbury was great as Cage’s son, he was never annoying and pulled off what he needed too very well.  The SFX were great in the film, I especially loved the plane crash that really made me jump when that happened/  This is a film that challenges your brains while still entertaining you like a good science fiction film should.

This one gets 4 out of 5

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~ by dougmoore38 on October 10, 2009.