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 | airport | scientist | nurse | agriculture | 

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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

Olivier Schneider, the actor who played Smith (the assassin with the glasses), was also a Stunt Coordinator for this film. He was also the Stunt Coordinator for Taken (2008), which also starred Liam Neeson.

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Goofs

When Martin Harris is going back to the airport, he takes a cab from Adlon Kempinski in the middle of the city. Tegel, the airport, is in the north-west. And somehow they end up on the bridge by Warschauer Strasse, which is way out east.

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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

Not a bad action/drama - a good time at the movies

It's one thing to be told not to think too hard about what you're about to see, it's another to be helped enormously in that task by a skilled director employing equally skilled actors. All the principals here are in top notch form and, though I enjoy trying to measure how much license was taken by a screenplay, this film never once made me feel cheated or resentful.

Is it a brilliant film? Probably not, but it's devilishly entertaining. The action scenes here are matched by the quiet drama scenes and that's unusual. I don't really think either sex can really claim it entirely.

The director's done a very good job of creating the right mood and telling the story in such a way that the actors can do their work, unimpeded by unrealistic run ups to their scenes. This movie made me feel as if I've just visited Berlin much more effectively than any other European based movie I can think of and that alone is worth the price of admission.