Knowing (2009)

M.I.T. professor John Koestler links a mysterious list of numbers from a time capsule to past and future disasters and sets out to prevent the ultimate catastrophe.

Director:

Alex Proyas

Writers:

Ryne Douglas Pearson (screenplay), Juliet Snowden (screenplay)

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	John Koestler
Chandler Canterbury	...	Caleb Koestler
Rose Byrne	...	Diana
Lara Robinson	...	Abby / Lucinda
D.G. Maloney	...	The Stranger
Nadia Townsend	...	Grace
Alan Hopgood	...	Reverend Koestler
Adrienne Pickering	...	Allison
Joshua Long	...	Younger Caleb
Danielle Carter	...	Miss Taylor (1959)
Alethea McGrath	...	Miss Taylor (2009)
David Lennie	...	Principal Clark (1959)
Tamara Donnellan	...	Lucinda's Mother
Travis Waite	...	Lucinda's Father
Ben Mendelsohn	...	Phil Beckman

Storyline

In the fall of 1959, for a time capsule, students draw pictures of life as they imagine it will be in 50 years. Lucinda, an odd child who hears voices, swiftly writes a long string of numbers. In 2009, the capsule is opened; student Caleb Koestler gets Lucinda's "drawing" and his father John, an astrophysicist and grieving widower, takes a look. He discovers dates of disasters over the past 50 years with the number who died. Three dates remain, all coming soon. He investigates, learns of Lucinda, and looks for her family. He fears for his son, who's started to hear voices and who is visited by a silent stranger who shows him a vision of fire and destruction. What's going on?

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Plot Keywords:

end of the world | number | disaster | time capsule | code | 

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Taglines:

Knowing is Everything...

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Summit Entertainment [United States]

Country:

USA UK Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 March 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Know1ng

Filming Locations:

Camberwell High School, Camberwell, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,604,751, 22 March 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$79,957,634

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$183,593,586

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, Escape Artists, Mystery Clock Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An anagram of the young girl who creates the list of numbers, Lucinda Embry, is Badly Numeric

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Goofs

(at around 54 mins) After John and Diana have walked out of the museum into the car park, on the ground near the cars you can clearly see that the arrows on the ground direct the cars to keep on the left side of the road, as the scene was filmed in Melbourne, Australia. However, in America, cars are obviously driven on the right-hand side of the road.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Miss Taylor: Everyone inside now!

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Connections

References Planet Earth (2006)

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Soundtracks

Beethoven Symphony No 7 in A Major, Op 92 (1811-12) 2nd Movement: Allegretto
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Sydney Scoring Orchestra

User Reviews

Kudos To Proyas For This Surprisingly Good Flick!

It may seem improbable, but Knowing actually adds something fresh and inspiring to the disaster genre.

Certainly the action scenes are well staged – they are as grand and tense as the previews would have you expect. But Knowing really stands out from the likes of Next and various Roland Emmerich movies because of its heart (there is a profoundly human element amongst the chaos and destruction), and because of the surprising, riveting turns the story takes. In no way was it a generic "save the world" flick, like I feared going in. It is an original with a memorable ending that should not be spoiled, but it will almost definitely have people talking.

In my mind, director Alex Proyas deserves a lot of the credit for the fact that the film is brave, and does not try to replicate a typical Hollywood blueprint. In fact, he even has Nic Cage back on solid footing, an actor I used to love but have been quite weary of lately. But I think Proyas deserves the main kudos for turning this into something creative and special, and I'd go as far as to say this it is his best movie since Dark City.

There really isn't much to complain about regarding the film, but the one exception might be the middle, where the action sags a bit. Still, I think the captivating final third more than makes up for it.

I definitely recommend the film - you will be pleasantly surprised!