Knowing stars Nicolas Cage as John Koestler and pretty much no one else who is recognizable. The only other celebrity (at least for me) is the director Alex Proyas whose movies I’ve followed and enjoyed for a while now beginning with The Crow and Dark City both of which I have in my movie collection and enjoy immensely. Alex Proyas’ I, Robot starring Will Smith is another personal favorite of mine but Knowing was a movie that I had missed out on during its initial run. It was recommended to me by a couple of friends as a very thought provoking and engrossing movie and also especially for the workout it would give my home theater and subwoofer. I would have to concede agreement on both points now.
The movie’s premise is very simple, it begins in the mid 1950s when a young schoolgirl Lucinda (Lara Robinson) leaves a note full of numbers. Move forward 50 years and John Koestler (Nicholas Cage) is the father of a young boy Caleb Koestler (Chandler Canterbury) who comes into the possession of this piece of paper bearing lots of numbers left by Lucinda 50 years ago. Nicholas Cage is an MIT astrophysicist who is mourning the loss of his wife in an accident with the resultant consequence that he has turned into an agnostic. On closer inspection Nicholas Cage finds that these numbers translate into dates of major catastrophic events taking place all over the World with specifics on the numbers of deaths involved and even the place where the events would take place in terms of latitude and longitude so much so that even September 11, 2001 is predicted accurately and all by a little schoolgirl some 50 years ago. Some of these numbers even translate into future events and while they convert Nicholas Cage into a believer, he is unable to avert major disasters try as he might. Events continue to unfold even as Nicholas Cage believes the numbers hold the key to humanity’s survival and works on deciphering the code.
The special effects are simply amazing and the sound effects purely awesome. The action sequences are huge and breathtaking especially the plane and train accidents. The movie does lean towards Biblical events with references to Ezekiel and the return of the Lord Jesus Christ with emphasis on John 14:6, subtle references to angelic beings in the form of aliens, and even the prodigal son in Nicholas Cage returning to his estranged father who is a retired church pastor. Even if you leave out the Biblical references and pointers which are in fact very much subtle, Knowing is still a thoroughly enjoyable movie and definitely worth watching.
