Knowing (2009)

Director:

Alex Proyas

Writers (WGA):

Ryne Douglas Pearson (screenplay) and
Juliet Snowden (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 March 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Knowing is Everything...

Plot:

A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

Plot Keywords:

Number | School | Disaster | Time Capsule | Student

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Nicolas Cage	...	John Koestler
Chandler Canterbury	...	Caleb Koestler
Rose Byrne	...	Diana Wayland
Lara Robinson	...	Abby Wayland / Lucinda
D.G. Maloney	...	The Stranger
Nadia Townsend	...	Grace Koestler
Alan Hopgood	...	Reverend Koestler
Adrienne Pickering	...	Allison Koestler
Joshua Long	...	Younger Caleb
Danielle Carter	...	Miss Taylor (1959)
Alethea McGrath	...	Miss Taylor (2009)
David Lennie	...	Principal Clark (1959)
Tamara Donnellan	...	Lucinda's Mother
Travis Waite	...	Lucinda's Father
Ben Mendelsohn	...	Phil Beckman

Also Known As:

Know1ng (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for disaster sequences, disturbing images and brief strong language.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45115) | Ireland:15A | Australia:M | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | South Korea:12 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | Czech Republic:12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Belgium:KT | Finland:K-13 | Norway:15 | Netherlands:12 | Mexico:B | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | Iceland:12 | Peru:14 | Japan:G | Brazil:12 | South Africa:13V | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Summit Entertainment

Trivia:

The last line of dialogue spoken in the movie is "I know".

Goofs:

Plot holes: The time capsule was apparently sealed only with a screw-on lid and was just placed in a hole in the ground, left uncovered and unsealed except for a manhole which was itself unsealed (and manhole keys are held by just about every construction and utility company, no matter how small they are). While we, the viewers, know the number sequence to have genuinely been put in by Lucinda, 50 years ago, to any of the characters in the movie it should seem like an obvious hoax, prior to the "future date" disasters happening. That John, someone who apparently does not believe in determinism, is so readily convinced that the paper was written 50 years ago seems more than a little implausible.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Miss Taylor: Everyone inside now!

Movie Connections:

References "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" (1993)

Soundtrack:

News Theme

Genius, genius, genius!

Knowing is one of the greatest and most surprising films of the year! Nicholas Cage's performance is surprisingly good; he fits the role as a teacher, he's believable as a father, and he soon sends out emotion and anger as the film progresses. On top of that, the plot is very interesting and well-executed; every other scene, there's a twist that comes about, I never see it coming, and it all builds up to an absolutely beautiful ending! The disaster scenes were thrilling; just knowing how much Cage's character has to go through is something I can connect to. The film overall is intelligent, dramatic, and surprisingly thrilling. I saw the trailer expecting the film to be incredibly boring, but they managed to take the "boring" part out of that and make it an incredible experience!