Knowing -- May 2009

SHADES OF EZEKIEL 


There’s a new movie out right now that seems to take a lot from the early chapters of the book of Ezekiel. One only wishes it had taken more.

Here’s the plot of Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage as widower John Koestler, a college physics professor and father to young Caleb, an elementary school student. John recently lost his wife in a fire, and though he is the son of a pastor, he apparently lost his faith as well. Because he felt no inkling of his wife’s impending death., he reasons that life must really be random, and no one (i.e., God) is really watching over us. In a fascinating classroom scene in which he tries to prep his students for the writing of their term papers, John cogently presents the two sides of the question of existence: either (1) there is a God who directs our lives; or (2) things just happen accidentally. John is no longer buying the first view. When his sister asks later if she can pray for him, he says, “Please don’t.”

Meanwhile, a momentous event takes place at Caleb’s school: a time capsule buried 50 years ago is opened. The capsule contains lots of drawings of what students of the 1950s expected the 21st century to look like – but it also contains a sinister sheet of numbers written by one very strange student. Caleb somehow gets hold of the sheet of numbers and suggests to his dad that they may represent some kind of code. We soon learn that the numbers are in fact highly significant: they indicate the time and location of all the major world disasters of the 50-year period, including the Oklahoma City bombing and 9-11. The thing is, there are three events yet to happen. John is skeptical at first, but when the first two disasters occur almost right under his nose, his newly cynical worldview is turned topsy-turvy. Again, he believes – at least in Something. He, Caleb, and others try to prevent the last disaster and in so doing encounter some quasi-angelic creatures who have aircraft (or spacecraft) remarkably similar in appearance to the wheels-within-wheels in Ezekiel. I don’t want to ruin your moviegoing pleasure, so I won’t say anything more about what happens. Let me just enumerate the picture’s strengths and weaknesses:


Strengths:

• A strong endorsement of the power of faith.
• A favorable presentation of familial love.
• Good creative tension throughout; we never lose interest.
• A sense of realism; no Bruce Willis, Will Smith, or Harrison Ford rides in on a white steed to save the world in the end.
• No inappropriate sexual scenes; mostly clean language.

Weaknesses:

• Less than compelling performances – especially that of Nicolas Cage.
• Well-meaning (perhaps) but faulty theology.

Bottom line:
Knowing is provocative and is to be admired for tackling the faith issue. I have the feeling that it’s underlyingly a Christian movie but can’t quite admit it.

Film Rating: PG-13
My Rating: 2 ¾ stars