Cerebral Knowing a Success for Cage
MIT astrophysics professor John Koestler (Nicholas Cage), queries his students: Was it determinism or pure chaotic randomness that placed Earth at just the right distance from the sun, resulting in favorable conditions for life? Posed with the same two choices by his students, he mutters, “I think shit just happens.”
Rose Byrne and Nicolas Cage in Summit Entertainment's Knowing
Koestler is a morose, slightly drunk widower faced with raising his tweener son (Chandler Canterbury) in Knowing, director Alex Proyas’ (Dark City, The Crow) latest sci-fi effort. The character’s outlook on life is dark, and it’s conveyed oh-so-well by Cage, who stays close to center in this performance drawing from experiences he had raising his son as a single dad. Morphing from creepy cerebral-thriller into a sometimes-gloomy, frantic commentary on technology and the human condition, Proyas weaves startlingly realistic special effects disaster sequences with Koestler’s frenetic search for meaning amidst this wreckage and the chaos of his own life.
That sense of déjà vu you might be feeling during the first act may arise from the expectation of seeing M. Night Shyamalan pop up in a cameo role (he doesn’t), or at least see his name in the credits (you won’t). From the start, we see creepy little Lucinda Embry (Lara Robinson), who clearly listens to her own private radio station in her head, bring us our MacGuffin, a mysterious list of numbers. Fifty years after she buried them in a school time capsule, this document is unearthed and works its way into Koestler’s hands. Once he’s convinced the list is really a series of dates corresponding to major world disasters (complete with the number of casualties) he tries to rally support from all quarters, including the daughter and granddaughter of little Lucinda, Diana (Rose Byrne) and her daughter, Abby (also Robinson).
Everything changes when the next disaster occurs. Gone is Koestler’s doubt on whether to act or not; the validity of the list has certified that. It’s up to him to save the world, his son’s life the only thing that matters to the driven father in the end. Yet there’s much inner turmoil boiling within the schoolteacher, trying to resolve the seemingly random loss of his wife (an event foretold on The List) against the determinism his family’s Christian faith subscribes to.
The special effects are outstanding and literally come out of nowhere. Remember the pilot episode of “Lost?” Jet fuel and exploding plane parts everywhere – it’s that kind of disaster. Meanwhile, Cage’s performance is more reminiscent of his more cerebral roles like in National Treasure or Adaptation, the actor very good in the lead role.
The film’s final reveal brings the initial questions back to mind reframed. How can dozens of tragic world events be predicted with frightening accuracy? Is there a guiding hand, moving our world forward from afar? Do the currents in the universe flow with such alarming regularity that events such as plane crashes and tsunamis are predictable, right down to their casualty figures?
However, the smaller questions like, “Should I see this film?” are pretty easy to answer. Amazing special effects coupled with solid performances amidst a tale of chaos and determination win that one out to the positive in the end.
Film Rating: êêê (out of 4)
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