Movie Review: Knowing (2009)

Genre: Science Fiction Thriller  

Director: Alex Proyas  

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne  

Running Time: 121 minutes  

Synopsis: Still grieving the loss of his wife, MIT astrophysicist John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) is raising his young son Caleb on his own. A time capsule from 50 years past is opened at Caleb's school, revealing a mysterious series of numbers written by troubled student Lucinda in the late 1950s. John breaks the code, which accurately predicted major global catastrophes from the past 50 years, with more to come. He connects with Lucinda's daughter Diana (Rose Byrne) and granddaughter Abby, and as calamities continue to occur as per the code, mysterious whispering strangers approach Caleb and Abby.

What Works Well: The march to cataclysm combines supernatural elements with themes of familial loss, religion, grief, and the debate between determinism and randomness. The school's time capsule is a clever introductory anchor, and director Alex Proyas keeps the mystery elements sharp as John grapples with the stunning implications of the deciphered code. The scale of potential disaster is global, but John and Diana's personal losses and individual-scaled suspicions allow the thrills to remain grounded.

What Does Not Work As Well: Two mass casualty events feature in the middle act, and the scenes of destruction succumb to marginal special effects and digital carnage more spectacular than convincing. The rushed late-in-the-final-act plot resolution explains everything and nothing, and a step-back from specifics exposes fundamental weaknesses in logic as the build-up to world-altering events passes mostly unnoticed.

Conclusion: When it comes to the end, to know or not to know is the question.



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