‘Knowing’ is Riveting
-----‘Knowing’ looked like a conventional blend of ‘National Treasure’ and fifty other action adventure disaster movies. However, I was still excited to see it thanks to the visually captivating trailer, though I did feel it would be nothing more than a forgettable action movie. Thankfully, ‘Knowing’ turned out to be anything but typical.
-----‘Knowing’ begins with a school class filling a time capsule with their vision of the future, in 1959. 50 years later, John Koestler’s son opens up a capsule picture to find a list of numbers. Being a college professor himself, John notices a pattern among the numbers. They have accurately predicted every major disaster over the last 50 years…and there are three events left.
-----Nicolas Cage stars as John Koestler in a role very suited to him. Cage does a strong job of portraying this somewhat depressed and very intuitive single father. He even opens the vault of various emotions toward the film’s climax, and his overall ability to carry the film helps this slow paced thriller stay above water during some of the more dutiful scenes. Chandler Canterbury play’s John’s son Caleb, in a role requiring very little, other than a few emotional scenes here and there; all of which Canterbury adequately handles. There’s not much more to the acting in the film other than a fairly small role from Rose Byrne who also adequately portrays her character, Diana Wayland.
 |
-----‘Knowing’ is a slow paced film that relies a good deal on keeping the audience continuously intrigued. Struggling to find a genre to stick with, the film starts as a spooky thriller, and then revolves back and forth for the next two hours between that and an action film until it finally lands on a third genre that will remain unnamed for the sake of the ending. While this continuous jumping back and forth does cause some problems with the direction, it ultimately works to keep the audience in the dark, and always entertains. One of the film’s few downfalls is the occasional extremely conventional use of cliché horror elements. However, none of these really kill the movie as they take place primarily within the bounds of the basic premise. Take for instance; the girl who writes the predictions on the time capsule sheet has these dark eyes and long black hair equipped with a quiet, spooky attitude. This, and the fact that she jots out the numbers in a near demonic state make for some of the horror movie archetypes that don’t help the film. Other than that, however, there are few things that come off as typical or cliché by any means.
-----The film often relies on a mood reminiscent of the old ‘Twilight’ episodes. Both eerie and chilling in the execution of some sequences, the movie adequately maintains suspense without following the modern day trends of blood, guts, and torture to scare the audience. The impending sense of doom is also sustained to a morbid level as the film enters the third act. The foreshadowing, occasionally blatant but often subtle gives the viewer a sense of despair equivalent to the one reflected in Cage’s eyes. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie that so capably fills the viewer with an anticipatory dread like that felt during ‘Knowing.’
 |
-----On a technical level, ‘Knowing’ offers some spectacular visuals, whether it’s visions of terror or in your face mayhem, the film is shocking in a number of areas as the disastrous predictions begin to unfold. Its skilled use of effects helps many of the scenes, and the film as a whole, rise above mediocrity into quality, believable storytelling. The music is quiet with the occasional touch of creepiness, and there is even some violin work constantly setting a mood as it plays boldly throughout a scene. The smooth classical sounds add a sense of art to the chaos. This intriguing choice of score often reminded me of some of the late Stanley Kubrick’s outstanding applications of classical music to film. The cinematography is very dark in mood, providing an eerie and dark theme that helps lend to the suffocation Cage’s character begins to experience as he tries to save the inevitably doomed victims of the predicted events.
 |
-----Despite the many positive aspects to ‘Knowing,’ what stood out to me was the ending. I was so surprised and unsuspecting of the outcome that it stuck with me for hours after leaving the theater. The final minutes of the movie absolutely resonated in my mind as I was unable to put it to rest. What I felt would be a forgettable action film had become something so much more. The Biblical undertones too, were both surprising and refreshing. So thick is the allegory in some of the closing scenes that all familiar with The Bible will be able to recognize it. For those unable to identify the Bible themes, I say only this: I guarantee it’s the best book you’ll ever read, and the only book you’ll ever need. ‘Knowing’s bold use of these themes and ultimate outcome make it one of the more intriguing and wonderful endings I’ve seen from a thriller in years.
-----The finished product is an agreeably slow, but primarily expertly executed film. It’s agreeably a one-time see for most who will watch it due to the dark mood and material. I, however, will be seeing it at least once more. It is a film worthy of discussion, and I look forward to sharing and discussing it with friends and family. ‘Knowing’ certainly isn’t perfect, and isn’t even the most original film, but its bold storytelling and riveting third act make it one of the year’s best so far.
|
