IMDb > Knowing (2009)
Knowing
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Knowing (2009) -- Here is the TV trailer for Knowing, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Nicholas Cage.
Knowing (2009) -- Here's a clip from Knowing, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Nicholas Cage.
Knowing (2009) -- A teacher (Cage) opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to. Does his family play a role in the coming events?
Knowing (2009) -- This is the first trailer for Knowing, directed by Alex Proyas.
Knowing (2009) -- A teacher (Cage) opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the event

Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   44,922 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Up 5% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Alex Proyas

Writers (WGA):

Ryne Douglas Pearson (screenplay) and
Juliet Snowden (screenplay) ...
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Contact:

View company contact information for Knowing on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

20 March 2009 (USA) more

Tagline:

Knowing is Everything... more

Plot:

A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold. full summary | full synopsis

NewsDesk:
(425 articles)

Two More Clips from Roland Emmerich’s ‘2012’
 (From Screen Rant. 5 November 2009, 1:35 PM, PST)

Vigilante Entertainment Preps for Black Summer
 (From Atomic Popcorn. 2 November 2009, 5:52 AM, PST)

User Comments:

And in the end... more (607 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:

Know1ng (USA) (promotional title)
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MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for disaster sequences, disturbing images and brief strong language.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

The last line of dialogue spoken in the movie is "I know". more

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the plane crash when the camera pans to a group of survivors struggling away from the plane debris a man is standing far ahead of the group and engine. When the engine explodes he is far away from the blast, but visually in front of it, and he simply disappears in one frame. more

Quotes:

[first lines]
Miss Taylor: Everyone inside now!
more

Movie Connections:

References "Creature Comforts" (2003) more

Soundtrack:

Beethoven Symphony No 7 in A Major, Op 92 (1811-12) 2nd Movement: Allegretto more


FAQ

What were the numbers that Caleb was writing?
What is the deal with the dream Caleb had of the deer burning?
Why were only the children taken? Aren't children too young to take care of themselves?
more
5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful.
And in the end..., 11 July 2009
6/10
Author: Max_cinefilo89 from Italy

What has happened to Alex Proyas? Back in the '90s, he directed dark, edgy pieces of sci-fi/horror, like The Crow and Dark City, that didn't necessarily pander to studio or audience expectations. Nowadays, he's gone in exactly the opposite direction, first with the fun but uneven Will Smith vehicle I, Robot (which doesn't have much in common with Asimov, despite the title) and now with the Nicolas Cage-starring Knowing. Entirely bad it ain't, but boy, does it struggle from time to time.

Cage plays a physics professor at MIT, named John Koestler, who teaches students about the notion of determinism, i.e. the theory that everything is part of a precise, already established plan. The irony is that he doesn't believe any of that stuff since his wife died in a tragic accident, leaving him alone with his young son Caleb (Chandler Canterbury). One day, something special occurs at Caleb's school: a time capsule, which was buried fifty years earlier, is unearthed so that the new generation can see what kids thought the future would look like back then. Instead of a drawing, Caleb ends up with a page containing a bizarre sequence of numbers. John takes a look at the sequence, and quickly (?) realizes that the numbers represent the dates and body count of every major disaster of the last five decades, including 9/11, Katrina and - big surprise - the death of the missus. Three of the predictions, however, have yet to come true, so John must find a way to prevent them from happening. Additionally, he has to deal with a group of weird-looking people who are interested in Caleb.

If it all sounds a bit familiar, that's because it is: while the story develops on its own terms, the premise alone, coupled with the creepy atmosphere, could come from an episode of The X-Files. In case the similarities weren't clear enough, the writers have even replicated the Mulder-Scully dynamic in the shape of John and his reluctant partner Diana (Rose Byrne) and added the inevitable religious subtext, which is hinted at from the very beginning (John's dad is a preacher). Also, the Strangers look kind of... In short, it's the sense of déjà vu that brings down most of Knowing: the third act is very easy to guess, the father/son relationship is sketchy, yada yada yada.

And yet Proyas manages to get some things admirably right: the tension is actually pretty consistent, with a few professionally delivered jump-scares along the way, and the visual effects are state-of-the-art, most notably in the impressive central set-piece which - a true stroke of genius, this one - is depicted in a single, continuous shot. Additionally, Cage's performance is one of his most convincing in quite some time. Okay, so it's not that difficult given his recent body of work includes the likes of The Wicker Man, Ghost Rider and Next, but his portrayal of a man who questions his beliefs (there we go again) adds some emotional weight to the picture. And that's without mentioning the refreshingly merciless conclusion...

Knowing is nothing new, meaning that the few unexpected elements it contains are rapidly sidelined by textbook scripting. Still, even on an off-day Proyas manages to pull off a collection of oddly compelling images (Cage's hair not included). Not quite enough, but we already sort of knew that, right?

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