| Half a century later (today of course), a special
ceremony is held at the same school where the capsule is lifted out.
The prophetic drawings are distributed to a new class of students
including Caleb Koestler (Chandler Canterbury), the precocious son
of brilliant, yet sobering John Koestler (Nicolas Cage), professor
of Astrophysics at MIT. Caleb gets Lucinda’s numeric sheet which
seems strangely drawn to him and he takes it home. Dad immediately
advises Caleb to return the paper to the school- until he actually
takes a good look at the numbers, analyzes them and discovers that
there’s much more to them. Dates and locations of every natural
disaster for the last 50 years and beyond. Whoa! This could
turn out to be something big. Maybe too big.
Total skepticism is aptly provided by Koestler’s colleague in
arms Phil Beckman( Ben Mendelssohn )who tells him to just take a
second look at the numbers. When he ignores the recommendation, he
nearly becomes obsessed with them ( a perceptual phenomenon called
Paredolia) and we are taken on a pretty good thrill ride watching
Cage trying to change destiny.
Dark City was the first movie I saw directed by Alex Proyas. It’s
conceptual story line, characters and amazing visuals from Aussie
effects house D Film services, drew me into that world instantly.
For others who liked it, Knowing should have the same profound
effect albeit both worlds are different.
Nic Cages, John Koestler sports a habit that can get rather
nauseating. He may be a brilliant scientist, but he’s still human.
Most likely it’s the consequence of a personal tragedy in his life
and Cage plays it for all it’s worth.
Chandler Canterbury who plays Caleb and who incidentally played
the eight year old Benjamin Button, is an incredibly talented child
actor. He stands toe to toe with Cageon every level as he tries to
cope with the heartbreak he shares with his father.
There are a few parts that slow the pace though not many thanks
to an engaging script that took 3 writers to compose. I admit my
heart raced as the climax drew nearer. I don’t know if Ryne
Douglas Pearson, Juliet Snowden or Stiles White know anything about
Armageddon, but you’ll see firsthand how they incorporated their own
brand of it in Knowing.
|
