Knowing

KNOWING

Director : Alex Proyas

Year : 2009

Genre : Science Fiction/Disaster

Rating : *

 

Once again, Nicolas Cage proves that he is one of the most versatile actors around with this brilliant....oh sorry, I thought I was writing a review for a movie that that came out 10 years ago. My mistake, I'll start again..............

Once again, Nicolas Cage proves that acting must be the hardest job in the world with his cardboard, horse faced performance in Alex Proyas' 'Knowing'; a science fiction movie that starts with promise but ends up slapping it's audience right in the face with overblown and not at all subtle religious guilt. While maintaining some air of entertainment for a good portion of it's running time, 'Knowing' quickly veers off into the realms of stupidity and banality, concluding with an ending so infuriatingly patronizing that I almost put my fist through my television screen after enduring it.

In 1959, a school buries a time capsule filled with envelopes of drawings and messages from the pupils. 50 years later, the capsule is is pulled out of the ground and the letters are distributed among the current alumni. One of the pupils, Caleb Koestler receives a note which is scribbled with lines and lines of seemingly random numbers and gives it to his father Jonathan (Cage), an astrophysics professor to investigate. After a night of heavy drinking, Jonathan hap hazardly places a glass of whisky on the note and lifting the tumbler, realises that the numbers 911012996 have been circled. On closer inspection, he notices that the numbers are actually the dates and the death toll of the September 11th attacks and upon reading the rest of the numbers, he recognizes (with the help of a computer) that many of the worst disasters of the last 50 years have been pre-predicted by the pupil from 1959. However not all of the numerical sequences are complete, meaning that more major disasters are soon to occur, possibly including the total destruction of planet Earth. It is up to Jonathan to find the answers before time runs out and humanity is doomed.

I am a fan of Alex Proyas' previous work, from the neo - noir action movie 'The Crow' to the fun science fiction romp 'I. Robot'. All of these films have striking visual flair and 'Knowing' doesn't buck this trend; the CGI and special effects are all very impressive, especially a central scene involving a catastrophic plane crash. But the screenplay is so banal and the cast are so poor that the film becomes bogged down with tiresome drawling from Cage and whiny moaning from the child actors reading a script seemingly written by a first time screenwriter lucky to get a break. To be fair Proyas did do the best he could possibly do with this material, it's just a shame 'Knowing' isn't worth the paper it is written on.

Nicolas Cage can be good in films, don't get me wrong. To me, he is one of the only actors who brings a raging insanity to every character he plays (even if it's not totally needed) so he can never be accused of not putting his all into a role. But sometimes Cage goes too far and 'Knowing' was just the beginning of a long chain of movies that he would make in the late 2000's and now the 2010's that all contain the same insane, over the top characterisations. These would include such masterpieces as 'The Sorceror's Apprentice', 'Season Of The Witch', 'Drive Angry' and of course the immortal 'Ghost Rider : Spirit Of Vengeance'. Watching Cage perform can be a guilty pleasure and there is be some fun to be had in watching him have a good time with a role. But in both body language and characterisation, he exudes no excitement or even interest during the whole of 'Knowing'. If Cage had actually put something into his performance, I may have accepted his character and become more involved in his emotional and psychological dilemmas.

However while the screenplay is turgid and the acting is perfunctory at best, by far the biggest problem with the film is the politics behind it's plot. The use of real catastrophes for entertainment purposes seems to be exploitative and cruel, defacing the memories of the thousands who had died in these tragic events. Surely, if a young girl seemed to know that hundreds of thousands were to die over the next 5 decades, wouldn't she tell someone rather than allowing it to happen and only revealing this foresight two events before the world ends. If someone is going to use the prophesies of the deaths of millions for entertainment purposes, use not so well known disasters or just simply make them up. Don't besmirch the innocent lives lost in acts of terrorism, natural causes or accidents, it just comes across as highly offensive. I won't give away the ridiculous ending, but let me just say that in the eyes of 'Knowing', if you haven't read and believe everything written in the Bible, you are doomed.

The only reason that 'Knowing' escapes a half star review from me is the effort that went into the special effects. The scenes of destruction involving planes, subways and the eventual annihilation of the planet are really well done and props to the special effects artists who created these scenes of catastrophe. Using both practical effects as well as CGI effects, Proyas is able to create a sense of destruction and catastrophe with his trademark visual eye. While the ending may resemble the scenes of obliteration from Roland Emmerich's 'Independence Day', the plane crash set piece really did impress me with scenes of explosions, carnage and people burning to death. While only a 12, 'Knowing' may be a bit too foreboding for younger viewers who may find the prophesies disturbing and apocalyptic. That is if they don't fall asleep due to boredom beforehand.

If you can't tell by know I hated 'Knowing'. I had high hopes for this film because as previously mentioned, I am a fan of Proyas and the over the top nature that Nicolas Cage inevitably brings to every performance. Unfortunately, 'Knowing' only angered me more and more as the film played on. It is a stupid, offensive and boring movie that started off with so much intriguing promise. If the script had been written better, was cast better and didn't use such demeaning plot devices, then the film could have been so much more. If you are a fan of Proyas' work such as the noir back catalogue of 'Dark City' and 'The Crow', you will be heavily disappointed as 'Knowing' plays out as an Emmerich or Shyamalan type mess. Proyas hasn't directed a movie since this travesty and maybe he will create something soon that brings back the visually talented director that I know and love. But rest assured, it will take a lot to forgive him for 'Knowing'. As for Nicolas Cage, this is your last chance.