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This particular review contains a spoiler for the movie, Knowing; because I do not want our readers to waste their precious time and money viewing this movie. As a Nicholas Cage fan, I was looking forward to the DVD release of “Knowing” on July 7, 2009. Knowing is a screenplay by Ryne Douglas, Juliet Snowden and Stiles White and was directed by Alex Proyas. The trailers I had seen for this movie gave me the impression that it had a feel similar to “Next,” a 2007 movie by Cage that I had enjoyed. Knowing was released into theaters in March of 2009. It only had a short run in cinemas, before it was released on to DVD just four months later.

The movie begins in the late 1950’s, in a Massachusetts classroom. Under the guidance of their teacher, the students complete drawings of their rendition of the future. Their artistic creations are to be sealed in a time capsule that is not to be opened 50 years. We the viewers get to see a few children’s standard futuristic drawings, before it cuts to a child named Lucinda Embry. Lucinda is frantically writing a seemingly random and unending string of numbers. Lucinda tries to desperately keep writing, even as the teacher snatches the paper from her. The viewer is then dragged through the all American 1950’s school’s ceremony, as they seal the time capsule into the ground. At the closing of the festivities, it is realized that Lucinda is missing. After a search, the child is found in a closet, in the basement of the school. She is frantic, and her fingers are bloody, because she had carved numbers with her bare hands onto the inside of the solid wood closet door. As her teacher tries to lead her out of the closet, Lucinda begs her to silence the voices in her head.

Finally, the movie cuts to 2009, and we are introduced to a widower named John Koestler and his adorable son, Caleb. The viewer is then remotely led down the emotional path of a widower and his young son. The next day, Caleb and his fellow students are gathered as the new “futuristic students” enduring the ceremony as the time capsule is finally opened. Each student is given an envelope to open from the past generation. Predictably, Caleb’s contents are the strange scribblings of Lucinda.
Caleb’s brilliant astrophysics father, John, played by Nicholas Cage, realizes that the seeming random list of numbers are actually dates and geographic coordinates of every major disaster since the day it was written. The list had accurately predicted the number of deaths that had occurred at every single tragedy for the last fifty years. Caleb begins to be taunted by mysterious figures in dark suits; he hears stranger whispers while they are present.

John heads to speak with Lucinda’s now aged teacher, seeking information, and the last numbers needed for the final even listed on Lucinda’s predictions. The teacher reveals that Lucinda had died of an overdose. He learns that Lucinda had a daughter, named Diana Wayland, who he then seeks out. Once he explains that he is there regarding the paper and Lucinda, Diana irately orders him out. Before leaving, he is able to tell her about a subway accident that is about occur, and how many will die from the event. John also tries to notify authorities, who do not take his call seriously.

John arrives at the coordinates of predicted disaster. He tries to stop or change the results of the event, and is unsuccessful in altering the predicted number of dead. He is emotionally devastated by the event. Diana sees a news broadcast confirming the accuracy of the prediction and the number deceased. She takes her daughter, Abby, to seek out John and Caleb.

Have I mentioned that by this point in the movie, I was so bored, that I had to force myself to continue watching for the sake of this review? The plot was very excruciatingly slow evolving. Once Abby and Diana meet up with John and Caleb, the story continues to drag on as the strange dark figures repeatedly taunt and scare the children, as their parents search for the last numbers for the final event listed. We are then dragged to Lucinda’s trailer and through some emotional drama on behalf of Diana for the loss of her mother. After it drags on a bunch more, we finally learn that final date predicts that “Everyone Else” will die. The two then frantically race around some more, before Diana takes both children and slips away. Diana stops for gas and the children are snatched by the scary dark strangers.

Abby’s mother drives frantically down the road in chase and is killed in an auto accident. John returns to Lucinda’s trailer, per the previously discovered carvings on the school door. When he arrives, he finds the children along with the strangers. Turns out the strangers are aliens. A glowing space ship then arrives and starts loading animals on to it, in pairs, like its Noah’s ark. They telepathically offer to take Caleb and Abby to save them from the apocalyptic end of humanity on Earth. The aliens refuse to take John, and he has to selflessly send his child off, knowing he is staying to die. He returns to the home of his family and embraces them as the world burns to an end.

This movie was a complete let down, and was not of the normal caliber work that Nicolas Cage stars in. This movie was long, drawn out, odd, boring and depressing to say the least. I recommend that you waste no more time on Knowing, then reading this review.