Cibbuano
RubySoho
Morgan Bell
Matt Shea
David O'Connell
Mountain FogKNOWING
June 30th 2009 11:57
© 2008 Summit Entertainment N.V. All rights reserved
'Knowing'
A professor of astrophysics, John Koestler (Nicholas Cage) discovers that a bizarre item his son Caleb (Chandler Canterbury) brings home from school has a terrifying significance, not only for his family, but for the rest of humanity.
Caleb's school was celebrating its 50th anniversary, the climax of the celebrations was to open the time capsule, embedded in the school grounds. Inside the capsule were letters to the future, that the students of the 1950s had written, for today's kids to read. Most letters contained colourful drawings, of space ships and a happy colourful future, yet one did not.
The letter Caleb opened was not a drawing, but a sheet of paper completely filled with numbers, created (as we see at the start of the film) by a disturbed school girl 50 years ago. As Caleb stared at the nonsensical numbers, another world subtly begins to make its presence known to him. Instead of handing the opened letter back to the teachers, as all the others did, Caleb takes his strange note home with him.
Later, Caleb's father notices the odd list poking out of his son's school bag and investigates. It is not long before his mathematical mind discovers something that perturbs him.
As the disastrous action mounts, Koestler, the estranged atheist son of a preacher and single dad, battles his own scientific reality based mind-set, in order to understand what the bizarre list of seemingly random number sequences mean, then, through a series of horrifying ordeals, Koestler realizes he is on a countdown and needs to find answers, and find them quickly.
Nicholas cage as Professor Koestler in ‘Knowing’.
(photo credit Vince Valitutti) © 2008 Summit Entertainment N.V. All rights reserved.
This film begins as a spooky, supernatural thriller, that soon becomes a maelstrom of major disasters that Koestler keeps associating with the enigmatic list. This bizarre list of numbers, written by an even more bizarre little girl 50 years ago, is starting to unnerve Koestler; the disturbing effect on him worries his university colleague and friend Phil Beckman (Ben Mendlesohn) who suggests that, maybe, Koestler is finally having a breakdown, after the death of his much loved wife.
But Koestler continues to explore the number sets and how they relate to dates of disasters, all of which had occurred in the previous 50 years. But there are a few dates still unattributed at the end of the list. In attempts to discover their meaning, Koestler meets the daughter of the list’s creator, Diana Wayland (Rose Byrne) who now must reluctantly face her torturous past, in order to help solve the riddle of the numbers.
Rose Byrne as Diana Wayland with Nicholas cage as Prof. John Koestler.
(photo credit © 2008 Summit Entertainment N.V. All rights reserved.)
As the hunt for meaning continues its relentless and disastrous course, Koestler’s son Caleb and Wayland’s daughter Abby (Lara Robinson) become aware of a supernatural force at work, but no one knows if ‘they’ are benevolent, or, a danger to their children and perhaps the real cause of the disasters.
The subtextural themes of what this film touches upon will be debated by many audience members, as various standpoints may be taken, depending on the individual's belief system and psychological nature. The film certainly rears many mental spectres that haunt people today; the supernatural, our collective existence and its end, even the debate regarding the nature of alien life, may be pondered.
Chandler Canterbury as Caleb Koestler in ‘Knowing’
(photo credit © 2008 Summit Entertainment N.V. All rights reserved.)
KNOWING is one of the first feature films to be shot with the "Red One Camera", a lightweight camera using high resolution digital technology. The great advantage of the "Red One Camera", over the film motion camera, is its ability to allow the director to immediately review what he has just shot, on set, then re-shoot if necessary.
With the film motion cameras, you must wait till the next day for the film reel's developing to see what you shot the previous day, then wait yet again for another arduous process, the colourization of each scene by man operated technology, and the inclusion of any special effects, often done bya process called "Blue Screen".
As producer Jason Blumenthal noted, “It (Red One Camera) made things move very quickly. We were able to do so much more on set than when we used to have to wait to do it in post, like tweaking colour.”
The Director of Photography (DOP), Simon Duggan, stated that “With the Red One Camera, we didn’t have to wait overnight just to see if a lighting scheme worked out. It’s all immediate, and we ended up having more confidence in pushing the limits of what we were doing.”
'Knowing' air crash site
(photo credit © 2008 Summit Entertainment N.V. All rights reserved.)
This technology is the future of picture making today and unlike other technological innovations of the past, is here to stay. The special effects in this film are both fantastic and yet realistic. It wasn’t till I checked the credits that I realized this film was made in Melbourne, Australia, for the most part, which is a credit to our battling film industry and its talented technicians.
Nicholas Cage as John Koestler in ‘Knowing’.
(photo credit: © 2008 Summit Entertainment N.V. All rights reserved.)
The DOP, award winning Simon Duggan, creates a balanced view that doesn’t impose itself upon the audience's consciousness, allowing the atmosphere created to seamlessly flow between the big disaster shots and the more intimate moments, leaving the viewing audience to marvel and immerse themselves in the film.
While some slight criticism could be considered, regarding some of Cage’s reactions, they are but fleeting and do not derail the momentum of the film. Well art directed, edited and shot, this is a mixed bag of roller coaster treats for the movie goer, sure to deliver satisfaction on the ticket price!
KNOWING
Run: 121mins
Production: Summit Entertainment;
Escape Artists Productions in association with Mystery Clock Cinema
Director: Alex Proyas
Australian/New Zealand Distributor: ICON Film Distribution
Stars: Nicholas cage, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendleson, Chandler Canterbury
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