Unknown (2011)

A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is.

Director:

Jaume Collet-Serra

Writers:

Oliver Butcher (screenplay), Stephen Cornwell (screenplay)

Stars:

Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Liam Neeson	...	Dr. Martin Harris
Diane Kruger	...	Gina
January Jones	...	Elizabeth Harris
Aidan Quinn	...	Martin B
Bruno Ganz	...	Ernst Jürgen
Frank Langella	...	Rodney Cole
Sebastian Koch	...	Professor Bressler
Olivier Schneider	...	Smith
Stipe Erceg	...	Jones
Rainer Bock	...	Herr Strauss
Mido Hamada	...	Prince Shada
Clint Dyer	...	Biko
Karl Markovics	...	Dr. Farge
Eva Löbau	...	Nurse Gretchen
Helen Wiebensohn	...	Laurel Bressler

Storyline

A biochemist and his dishy wife arrive in Berlin for a conference at which a scientist and his controversial Arab funder will announce breakthrough research. While his wife checks into the hotel, he grabs a cab to return to the airport for his briefcase, left at the curb. En route, an auto accident puts him in a coma, from which he awakes four days later without identification and with gaps in his memory. He goes to the hotel: his wife refuses to recognize him and another man has claimed his identity. With help from a nurse, the cab driver, a retired Stasi agent, and an academic friend, he tries to unravel what's going on. Is the answer in the briefcase?

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Plot Keywords:

amnesia | berlin | memory loss | airport | scientist | 

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Taglines:

Take back your life.

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Genres:

Action | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Kinowelt [Germany] Official site [France]

Country:

UK Germany France USA

Language:

English German Turkish Arabic

Release Date:

18 February 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Unknown

Filming Locations:

Tresor, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,856,389, 20 February 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$63,686,397

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$136,123,083

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dark Castle Entertainment, Panda Productions Inc., Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

If Bruno Ganz ("Jurgen") looks vaguely familiar, it is because of his stunningly convincing portrayal of Adolf Hitler in Downfall (2004).

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Goofs

When Harris asks the hotel security head to contact the US Embassy, he is told it is Thanksgiving and the Embassy would be closed till Monday. This is nonsense as all major embassies have duty officer(s). In real life, Harris would have been able to contact the Embassy and have his identity confirmed through passport and social security records.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Pilot's Voice: Ladies and gentlemen, we're beginning our descent into Berlin Tegel, where local time is 8:30 AM, and the temperature is a cool minus four degrees.
Dr. Martin Harris: Morning.
Elizabeth Harris: Did you sleep?
Dr. Martin Harris: No. I'll sleep at the hotel.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are shown as clouds being viewed from an airplane blow past... not so crazy, except that it actually makes one of the credits unreadable.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Review of 2011 (2012)

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Soundtracks

TV Tunes
(uncredited)
Performed by Kevin W. Buchholz (as Buchholz) & Jessie Shapiro (as Shapiro)
Written by Kevin W. Buchholz (ASCAP) & Jessie Shapiro (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Acumen Audio & Cutting Edge Music

User Reviews

Crafty Thriller!

Liam Neeson is turning into quite an action star these days despite his advancing age. After starring in the surprise action hit Taken, Liam tries his hand at another similar movie except with a much fewer body count. Unknown is a crafty little thriller set in international lands and is much better than I expected it to be. I thought this would be almost like a sequel to Taken but what I got was a tense, smartly-written thriller.

This film is about a husband, Dr. Martin Harris and a wife, Liz who travels to Germany because of a press conference. After suffering in an accident, Martin wakes up to find out his whole world is turned upside down when he finds out his wife does not recognize him and an impostor has taken his place. Now, he has to face many challenges if he is to get things back to normal.

Liam Neeson is making a name for himself as an action star. He was pretty good to watch in this movie. The supporting cast led by January Jones, Diane Kruger, and Frank Langella is really good as well.

Overall, this is a tense thriller which is way better than the release date it had would suggest. This movie was slow at times and it reminded me greatly of Harrison Ford's Frantic, but despite some clichés, the cast and some tense moments rose this film above mediocrity. I rate this film 8/10.