Back in 2009, I was excited to see this new movie, Knowing. The ads, like the one above, said the movie involved some sort of mystery, involving creepy messages from aliens and Nicholas Cage unraveling the truth. What I got was something very different.
And me disgusted at this cheap fakeout by advertisers.
I typically don't like to reveal things in my reviews, but to adequately discuss this movie, I have, so if you don't want spoilers, don't read further.
Knowing tells the story of John Koestler, a university professor and astrophysicist, who sets about investigating the strange numbers found in a time capsule from 1959 that was dug up at his son's elementary school. The piece of paper, found by John's son, Caleb, is a long string of numbers written down by Lucinda Embry, a girl who heard voices and who was compelled to transcribe them (continuing in the coat closet when she was interrupted, leading her to be banished to a mental institution). John is intrigued by the numbers and then becomes obsessed in figuring out what they mean when he notices the date, location, and death toll of the 9/11 attacks located within them. He eventually figures out that the numbers detail "every major global disasters in the last 50 years." This, combined with the three remaining dates, and the strange "whisper people" who seem to be stalking his son, leads him to believe that his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold. John tries to hunt down Lucinda, discovers she has died; instead, he connects with her daughter, Diana, and her granddaughter, Abby, who, like Caleb, is being visited by the whisper people. He and Diana, convinced their children are in danger, set out on a quest to stop the impending tragedies.
From the trailer (above), you see Caleb looking the piece of paper, while a whisper man looks on. Later, Caleb interacts with a whisper man who shows him a vision of fire and destruction and then he screams because of the whisper men. Another trailer (which I couldn't find) had 2 whisper men watching their house like stalkers. That, combined things like them vanishing into thin air and the floating stones (like to see when a UFO hovers above), left me thinking that this movie and its mystery had something to do with aliens who were targeting these kids.The movie, however (and stop now if you don't want spoilers), is not about aliens. It's about something all together different.
The movie is about the end of the world.
Those whisper men, we discover, are angels sent from heaven to retrieve the chosen few, "to start over" when this world is burnt to a crisp because of a massive solar flare from the sun. "The numbers are the key to everything" - a warning of this end event, which is why Lucinda was so compulsive about recording everything. And why the numbers ended.
So, instead of aliens, I got 'the Rapture.' The world gets burnt to a crisp, like in 2 Pe. 3:10 and Rev. 20:9. Those whose names were not "written in the book of life" burned, too (Rev. 20:15), even those who took refuge in special caves (Rev. 6:15). I left the movie disgusted, partially because I don't believe in the Rapture, but moreso because *nothing* in any of the trailers said that this was going to be a translation of a religious allegory.
For the last 2 years I have pretty much despised the movie because of this. Recently, however, I am re-evaluating my distaste.
On the whole, the movie is good story-telling. Things are slowly revealed. Things aren't obvious. You don't really figure out who the whisper men are almost until it's revealed. You root for Cage as he attempts to stop a major world catastrophe and the threat to his son. There are great special effects (it's creepy watching the world fry). I think, in retrospect, I would have liked the movie whole lot better if I had known that this was the movie I was getting. So why didn't they advertise it that way?
Most likely because they thought people wouldn't want to go see a movie depicting a religious-based end of the world. Columbia Pictures had no problem selling the catastrophic world's end when it 2012 in the same year. But that movie wasn't based on the Bible, just an misinterpretation of what might happen when the Mayan calendar ends. It was so over-the-top that no one could take it seriously, so it's not something that fundamental Christians might get bent out of shape about. Several blog posts I read argued that this movie was pushing the alien-savior philosophy, where Earth's gods (and God) and all that have been attributed to them are just the work of aliens with advanced technology and that it all reaffirms one of Arthur C. Clarke’s Laws of Prediction: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Personally, I think I would have actually *liked* the movie (more) if I knew that this is what it's about. In reflection, my disgust has waned once I decided to let go of my alien prejudice. I'm actually thinking of watching it again, since it's interesting to me the psychological reactions of people reacting to life-ending events, especially, like it says in 1 Thes. 5:1-3, "the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night" and "destruction will come on them suddenly." And I'm actually looking forward to rewatching and thus seeing Proyas's interpretation of this story.
But, this doesn't mean that I don't have some beefs with the story.
Throughout the film, the story has been building this relationship between Nicholas Cage and his son, Caleb. "You and me together forever," complete with sign language, even! Cage is convinced something bad is going to happen to Caleb at the hands of these mysterious whisper men, and he's fighting to save the last member of his family. When the Rapture comes, Caleb is indeed part of the chosen. But this select group, it turns out, does not include Nicholas Cage. What the heck???!!! Why get us in any way invested in this father-son relationship and then have it ripped apart? Was it supposed to make John Koestler noble, because he let his son go without a fight and even convinced Caleb to go when Caleb didn't want to be separated? I glare annoyed.
Also, even though they're not aliens, the 'angels' conveniently travel in things that very much look like spaceships (the crazies claim that they're what Ezekiel saw when he described a wheel within a wheel - Ezk. 1:16). This doesn't make any sense since heaven is not a place that exists in our physical universe, nor does it make sense since the whisper men can disappear into thin air. Why would they need ships if they can just jump from one place to the next? Is the gravitational pull of the earth too strong for this type of teleportation? In what sci-fi universe has gravity or distance ever effected teleportation when someone can teleport without the help of technology?
During the Rapture, the whisper men leave their earthly bodies behind. So why wouldn't they just do the same for the children? (Oh, wait, the kids get some nice new snazzy white clothes on the new Earth.) Why wouldn't they just turn the kids into beings of light too so they can travel together? Why do they need these space ships (which, apparently, can travel faster than light, since they blink out of sight)?And even though Earth is thrown into and destroyed by fire, where are the people tortured by smoke locusts (Rev. 9)? That would have been really cool to see that interpretation. Where's the dragon, the beast, the anti-Christ that people were supposed to worship?
This all leads me to my next beef with the film. After Caleb and Abby have left, John drives in his Ford truck through crowds, who are milling and scattering like cockroaches, to finally reach his estranged-family's home so that he can die with his parents and sister. (They've been estranged because John rejected God after the death of his wife and John's father is a minister.)
Why aren't his parents part of the chosen few? His father is a minister, who, when reacting to the end of the world, does so with a lot of faith and acceptance. Cage's family opts not to run around for cover, but instead to wait calmly, while the end comes. And as it arrives, he tells Cage, "this isn't the end, son." So why wouldn't he be part of the 'raptured'? The theology behind the Rapture is all about the faithful being taken before the world is destroyed. Why wouldn't this faithful man be part of it? I can understand Cage not going, since he rejected God, but his parents? How is that right? And even Cage shouldn't be disqualified by the end, because he regained his faith. When his father says it isn't the end, he replies, "I know," implying that he expecting something beyond death to happen afterwards.But that somewhat answers one of the philosophical questions of the film. John asks, "Why did I get this prediction if there's nothing I can do about it? How am I supposed to stop the end of the world?" Why, if this is really Armageddon, would God work that way, provide a lesson in futility? But that might be the point. John rejected God as a way to control the circumstances around his wife's death. Rather a God who didn't exist than a loving God who did but didn't care about his wife's death (an unloving act). I think by the end of the film, John comes to see the error of his reasoning. It's not about stopping horrible events. Man doesn't have that kind of power. And it's not about whether a loving God would stop something like that. Sometimes bad things just happen, regardless of whether God loves us or not. I think the message of the futility is this: there's a plan, even in the worst of circumstances. And even if we might not like the circumstances, there's still a plan, made by a loving God. And that's why he returned home and answered with the belief that something more would come after they were obliterated from the planet.
Even if they might magically, because they're the 'chosen,' escape old Earth's influence, wouldn't they at least need SOMEONE TO HELP THEM SURVIVE? If this starting over is to be successful, shouldn't there be someone around who knows those things? These kids have grown up pampered in nice houses and with parents who really didn't seem to ever require them to do more than just keep their rooms clean. How are they going to know how to shuck corn or how long to boil potatoes or how to assemble clothing, if someone's not there to help them?
And why would they just take off for the tree? Did the angels tell them to go there before they were dumped on New Earth?
The finale shows lots of ships leaving, presumably after they've dropped off their cargo. Why would they have to land so far apart? And is this new world only going to be populated with 20-40 people (since we only saw a small number of ships leave our Earth)? You see some of those ships departing land that is across a body of water. If everyone's supposed to go to the tree, how are those kids supposed to get there, since this new Earth probably doesn't have any boats to traverse it? (Even if there was a boat, how are these kids going to be able to work the boat, since they haven't been trained in that technology, or even how to guide a sailboat, since most likely that ship wouldn't have evil technology to begin with.)Another beef: why would *rabbits* be chosen to be the animals saved from complete destruction. As someone who has interacted with both pet rabbits and dogs, I know that it is far less likely that a dog will bite you. Rabbits are not cuddly, nor do they really like interacting with people. Even a domesticated rabbit is more than likely to hop away from you when you go to pet it. Dogs, on the other hand, will seek you out for attention and interaction. And they will bark at whatever may be a threat and have been known to give their life for their humans. That might be handy on this New Earth. So why would you want to take rabbits?
Also, Diane is shown to be a very good mother to Abby. They didn't even get to say good-bye. How is that fair?
And if this is the new Earth, why is there a sea? Revelations specifically says there won't be one. And where's the Holy City that the chosen are going live in?
I may be trifling, but if you're going to embrace the story, embrace all of it.
It also annoys me, some, that both Lucinda and Abby are played by the same little girl. Lucinda, who was chosen to hear the whisper men, who died before the ending happened. Does this mean that she was reincarnated? How does that fall into Christian theology?
Other nitpicks:
At the beginning of the movie, Lucinda is seen scribbling the numbers, during the assignment where she is supposed to be drawing a picture of what she thinks the world will be like 50 years in the future. Her teacher takes away the piece of paper, which she then places in the envelope, which is then opened by Caleb 50 years later. Why wouldn't the teacher make Lucinda redo the assignment, since it was very obviously not a drawn picture? And further, if this piece of paper is supposed to be a warning, why would the angel, who whispered to Lucinda, whisper *then,* during school, instead of, say, when she was at home? Why did they have to do it so that she wouldn't be able to finish and would be forced to scratch it into the wall of the coat closet? You could argue that this was the plan to get the paper in John's hands, but it could have ended up there another way, one that didn't involve destroying someone's life. Even if she is supposed to be this story's Cassandra, whose name means "shining upon man," who everyone thought was crazy, the point is that Cassandra *wasn't* crazy, just doomed to be ignored. This not what happened in Lucinda's case. People thought she was crazy, told her she was crazy, and she eventually went crazy to the point that she was so despondent that she killed herself.
Seems rather cruel, even if this is supposed to be something that brings John back to his faith. And it doesn't seem like God's character to me. It says in Ro. 8:28 that "God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose," that God makes something good out of even bad things, but how was this for Lucinda's good, since she was one of those who have been called according to his purpose? Getting called insane and locked in an institution, getting driven insane by the knowledge of what's to come to the point that you kill yourself, abandoning your daughter - that doesn't sound like it was in anyway a good outcome. And even if the outcome was the impact of these events on those around her (which is how you could reason that something like the 9/11 tragedy or the Holocaust could produce good from so much evil), that didn't even happen. No one saw the numbers in her lifetime. They just saw a crazy girl who they had to lock away. Her death left her own daughter confused. The numbers that she felt compelled to write, they weren't used to prevent any of what they were predicting. The numbers were pretty pointless. The only point I see in them was to help John accept things and come back to his faith. But even that point was a stretch. That could have been accomplished without the numbers existing at all, what with the whisper men who kept following his son around.
Other issues:- The death toll of wars aren't included on *the list* but the hotel fire that killed John's wife is. Again, even if the list is just a tool to restore John's faith, why wouldn't they be listed? They're pretty disastrous.
- What is it with single parents and freaky kids? The Sixth Sense, Signs, Push? Every single one of them were situations where the kids were weird and only one parent was around to take care of them. Is that some subconscious message about being a single parent? Or just a convenient plot device?
- And if the aliens/angels possess the ability to both foretell the future and influence events, why couldn't they have stopped the solar flare that was going to destroy everything with their technology? Or at least influence humanity to help them evolve beyond its foibles and shortcomings? Given their apparent altruistic attitudes towards humanity, why didn’t they take the time to save the world’s population? Further, as I noted before, why couldn't they just transport everyone someplace else? Like this beautiful new world? Or why not just be our policemen?
Rating: 7/10
Related links:
IMDb
Roger Ebert's Review
N.Y. Times Review
Interesting Blog Review of 'Knowing'
NWO Intel Briefing - An Example of Why They Probably Didn't Advertise It as an Armageddon Movie - "Hollywood's Satanic Agenda" with lots of explanation of the film's hidden symbolism! Dun-dun-dun!!!
This review by Cult Movie Review who argues that, instead of proselytizing, the movie actually refutes the Christian religion (alien astronauts and all).
Delusion Resistance also argues that Knowing is New Age propaganda.
This review argues the film is about determinism. "Early in the film... Proyas gives us a long pan across Earth’s curved surface from the perspective of the Heavens. We can detect man’s roads and highways stretch across the horizon, looking like snaking, questing lines of light... This shot selection not only portends a 'watcher' — an observer from Above — but also reveals to us the seemingly random nature of man’s 'path': stretching in all directions across Earth. House after house, turn after turn... without purpose. Or is there?"
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