Surprisingly gripping, intense and mysterious but all a bit iffy (Knowing (DVD))

Member Name: Benjammar

Product:	Knowing (DVD)
Date:	03/07/09 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Impressive special effects, well developed characters and a creepy atmoshpere

Disadvantages: Dissapointing story towards the end

I'm sure I'm like every other person who watched this film; I watched the trailers and thought WOW. The trailers made this film look like an intense roller coaster of an action film with a small but clever plot tagged along. How wrong I was about this film. Don't get me wrong this film still has some very impressive action scenes but there is a lot more to this film then initially meets the eye. The plot takes centre stage and there is a dark, creepy and mysterious side to this film. This film is borderline scary and wasn't far off making me feel a bit sad towards the end (And I'm typical guy who never gets soppy at films!). This film was given a PG-13 rating which is probably right but I do think some children who are not used to seeing people die in a film will feel uncomfortable in this film. There is no Saw type horror or blood and guts but it will be quite a lot for some children to handle.

The Plot

In 1959 at William Dawes Elementary School the children of one class have been asked to draw what they think the future will look like. These images are put in a time capsule to be opened 50 years later. One girl, Lucinda, hands in a page full of random numbers instead. The last we see of Lucinda is of her hiding in a closet in the school with whispering voices in her head and blood on her fingers.

The film then fast forwards to present day when the time capsule is being opened at the school. Knowing follows the story of John Koestler, a professor of astrophysics, who is the single father of Caleb. When the time capsule is opened Caleb is the one who receives Lucinda's page of numbers. John quickly works out that the page of numbers corresponds to every global disaster that has happened in the past 50 years with the numbers describing the date, location and number of people who have died. The numbers also suggest that there are 3 more disasters waiting to happen, the last one being the end of the world. Throughout the film Caleb is visited by mysterious men who give him a black stone, at the same time the whisper voices can be heard.

The plot splits in two here, one side follows John trying to stop the disasters happening whilst the other is John trying to work out how Lucinda was able to come up with these numbers. This is where the film becomes a mix of styles. The film is an action film when following the disasters but the mystery behind Lucinda is very creepy. I'm not sure anyone was expecting this when they watched the film. Other key characters to the film are Lucinda's daughter (Diana), Lucinda's granddaughter (Abby) and to a lesser extent John's sister (Grace), Johns Dad and his friend from work (Phil Beckman).

The main actors:

John Koestler - Nicholas Cage
Caleb Koestler - Chandler Canterbury
Diana Wayland - Rose Byrne
Lucinda Embry/Abby Wayland - Lara Robinson (She plays both characters)
Grace Koestler - Nadia Townsend
Phil Beckman - Ben Mendelsohn
Reverend Koestler (John's Dad) - Alan Hopgood

The Good

This film will get mixed receptions, and all because of the plot but ill come to that later. I personally really enjoyed this film. The disaster scenes had some impressive special effects and were very intense. The developers have a done a good job in making the disasters appear real here. I mentioned the film might not be appropriate for children however for the older audience the realism the disasters bring is a very nice touch. Watching people on fire isn't everyone's cup of tea but this film is meant to shock you. Too few films skip over death scenes, they don't show that it is a horrible thing to see but Knowing does a good job in making you feel just a little bit queasy inside. It's well reflected by John as Nicholas Cage does a good job in showing how depressing the whole event can be. Again, this film is not meant to be pretty and happy.

The story behind Lucinda's ability leads John to her daughter Diana and granddaughter Abby. This is the dark and mysterious side to the film and something I thoroughly enjoyed. It's very moody and will keep you on the edge of your seat at all times. The use of children in this film is cleverly done as you will never sit easy in your seat knowing that they might be in danger. I'm not one to get frightened easily but watching a bunch of dark and mysterious men approach Caleb and Abby is quite a worrying experience. Maybe if the trailers had been clearer about what this film entailed it wouldn't be so surprising but I found the whole thing shocking, but in a good way. I don't want to go into too much detail surrounding this aspect of the film as it's better when you don't know it's coming

The acting on the whole is of a good standard here. All the supporting acts are on good form; nothing special worth mentioning but everyone is solid in their role and expresses the range of emotions needed very well. Obviously the key performances are from Nicholas Cage and Chandler Canterbury. On the whole both do well here. I felt Cage started a bit rusty in Knowing; some scenes he looked a little out of place and his acting felt a tad awkward. However credit to Cage he got better throughout the film and it was a much improved performance from him by the end. I've never been the biggest fan of Nicholas Cage but I thought on the whole he was good here. Weirdly enough I found the performance of Canterbury the opposite. He started exceptionally well but faded towards the end. He does a good job of playing the grumpy kid who is unhappy with his dad but also a smart child that questions the events of the story.

The bond between the two characters was key to this film. Early on John and Caleb have a secret hand shake if you will where they say 'You, me, together, forever' and wave their hands in a special way. When I first saw this I thought 'Oh dear' in my head as it looked so cheesy and awkward. It obviously comes up again the film but too my surprise and delight it's very heartwarming when you see it again. The bond between the two develops throughout the film and you will actually feel happy for the two when they get along. It's a sad ending so those susceptible to crying may shed a tear or two, you've be warned! There are lesser plot lines between John and Grace and John and his Dad, these are less vital to the story but are well written and a nice addition to the main on goings of the film.

The Bad

The main gripe which stops this film being a real hit is the plot twist. Some will have seen it coming; others will argue it was the only reasonable answer to the film. Me personally thought it might happen in the back of my head but was praying it wouldn't happen, sadly it did. I can't obviously say what it was but a lot of people will be thoroughly disappointed by it. It's almost as if the writers ran out of ideas. It's a shame this gripping film had to end in such a way. You will really get into this film eagerly anticipating how it ends but probably end up saying to yourself 'Oh, is that it?'. I won't ramble on as it should be clear what I'm trying to say. I personally wasn't too disappointed as the film before hand had been a brilliant watch up to now so I forgave it, but some most certainly won't.

Other small issues would be the pace of the film. It can take a while to get going. The first part is quite slow moving but once the first disaster takes place it really kicks into gear and never slows down. If you`re not a fan of Nicholas Cage I don't think you will enjoy this film. I've never found him the most riveting actor to watch; he is good here but it could have been done better I feel.

Overall

A gripping, intense, dark, creepy and mysterious film that is let down by a dodgy plot line towards the end. The acting is of a good quality and the relationships between the characters is well developed. One of the few films where I've actually felt for the characters towards the end of the film. Potentially could have been one of the big hits of the year but the iffy twist just made this film fall short at the final hurdle.

Summary: A very surprising film, this film is so close yet so far from being amazing