Knowing
Plot: In 1959, a school decides to bury a time capsule. Most of the children draw pictures, but a young girl, haunted by voices, writes pages of numbers. 50 years later, the time capsule is opened and young Caleb receives the numbers. Caleb’s dad, astrophysicist John Koestler (Nicholas Cage) finds a pattern and realises the numbers represent dates and death rates of national disasters. However, there are a few dates yet to come and the final one predicts the end of the world.
My Thoughts: As a mathematician I was interested to watch a movie based around numbers, and on the whole I wasn’t disappointed. There is a darkness and a sense of foreboding in the way the film is shot, which makes Nicholas Cage a good choice of actor for main character. I did feel the ending of the film was a bit rushed and weak compared to the rest of it. It is as if the writers, after producing a great idea, didn’t really know how to end it.
On the whole, it is a nice, sharp sci-fi movie, with a blunt ending. Think Dark Water meets Close Encounters.
Best Bit: The disaster scenes are well shot (If a little unbelievable- I really think if he was that close to a plane crashing, he wouldn’t have been totally unharmed!)
Score: 7/10