IMDb > Knowing (2009)
Knowing
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Knowing (2009) -- Here is the TV trailer for Knowing, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Nicholas Cage.
Knowing (2009) -- Here's a clip from Knowing, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Nicholas Cage.
Knowing (2009) -- A teacher (Cage) opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to. Does his family play a role in the coming events?
Knowing (2009) -- This is the first trailer for Knowing, directed by Alex Proyas.
Knowing (2009) -- A teacher (Cage) 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 event

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Overview

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Director:
Writers (WGA):
Ryne Douglas Pearson (screenplay) and
Juliet Snowden (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Knowing on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 maaliskuu 2009 (USA) more
Tagline:
Knowing is Everything... more
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. full summary | add synopsis
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User Reviews:
And in the end... more (630 total)

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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Know1ng (USA) (promotional title)
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MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for disaster sequences, disturbing images and brief strong language.
Runtime:
121 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The text of the time capsule plaque reads, "We, the 3rd grade class of William Dawes Elementary School, in the year of 1959 A.D., hereby commit our visions of the future as a token of hope and friendship toward our successors, the class of 2009 A.D." more
Goofs:
Continuity: Midway through the movie, as the sheet of paper with the numbers on it sits on a desk, there is a small wear tear at the bottom fold/crease. Later shots of the same sheet of paper show no tear at that crease. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Miss Taylor: Everyone inside now!
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Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Beethoven Symphony No 7 in A Major, Op 92 (1811-12) 2nd Movement: Allegretto more

FAQ

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8 out of 12 people found the following review useful.
And in the end..., 11 heinäkuu 2009
6/10
Author: Max_cinefilo89 from Italy

What has happened to Alex Proyas? Back in the '90s, he directed dark, edgy pieces of sci-fi/horror, like The Crow and Dark City, that didn't necessarily pander to studio or audience expectations. Nowadays, he's gone in exactly the opposite direction, first with the fun but uneven Will Smith vehicle I, Robot (which doesn't have much in common with Asimov, despite the title) and now with the Nicolas Cage-starring Knowing. Entirely bad it ain't, but boy, does it struggle from time to time.

Cage plays a physics professor at MIT, named John Koestler, who teaches students about the notion of determinism, i.e. the theory that everything is part of a precise, already established plan. The irony is that he doesn't believe any of that stuff since his wife died in a tragic accident, leaving him alone with his young son Caleb (Chandler Canterbury). One day, something special occurs at Caleb's school: a time capsule, which was buried fifty years earlier, is unearthed so that the new generation can see what kids thought the future would look like back then. Instead of a drawing, Caleb ends up with a page containing a bizarre sequence of numbers. John takes a look at the sequence, and quickly (?) realizes that the numbers represent the dates and body count of every major disaster of the last five decades, including 9/11, Katrina and - big surprise - the death of the missus. Three of the predictions, however, have yet to come true, so John must find a way to prevent them from happening. Additionally, he has to deal with a group of weird-looking people who are interested in Caleb.

If it all sounds a bit familiar, that's because it is: while the story develops on its own terms, the premise alone, coupled with the creepy atmosphere, could come from an episode of The X-Files. In case the similarities weren't clear enough, the writers have even replicated the Mulder-Scully dynamic in the shape of John and his reluctant partner Diana (Rose Byrne) and added the inevitable religious subtext, which is hinted at from the very beginning (John's dad is a preacher). Also, the Strangers look kind of... In short, it's the sense of déjà vu that brings down most of Knowing: the third act is very easy to guess, the father/son relationship is sketchy, yada yada yada.

And yet Proyas manages to get some things admirably right: the tension is actually pretty consistent, with a few professionally delivered jump-scares along the way, and the visual effects are state-of-the-art, most notably in the impressive central set-piece which - a true stroke of genius, this one - is depicted in a single, continuous shot. Additionally, Cage's performance is one of his most convincing in quite some time. Okay, so it's not that difficult given his recent body of work includes the likes of The Wicker Man, Ghost Rider and Next, but his portrayal of a man who questions his beliefs (there we go again) adds some emotional weight to the picture. And that's without mentioning the refreshingly merciless conclusion...

Knowing is nothing new, meaning that the few unexpected elements it contains are rapidly sidelined by textbook scripting. Still, even on an off-day Proyas manages to pull off a collection of oddly compelling images (Cage's hair not included). Not quite enough, but we already sort of knew that, right?

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Most depressing movie...I've ever seen. :/ kk_gmcr
Are Aliens/Angels pedofiles?! danny2135
End of Knowing - racist? paulkerseydw
Other alien ships in the end LLawliet
are there any cliches they missed? ostoralian
'Knowing' was to a great extent funded by Australian taxpayers jackson_bay_mystery
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