An emotional shot to the gut. Some of the most shocking moments put on film

Rating: 9/10 (20 March 2009)

CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS...PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW.
Best film of the year so far.
To say this film is an emotional shot to the gut is an understatement. I sat frozen, literally, with chills (literally) running up and down my spine at least 5 times in this film. The disasters are real, they are devastating and they are scary. What this film has to say is scary. I think there was more to the screenplay but for time constraints, they had to leave some out. I'm not sure if this film affected me because I have a lot of the same problems that John (Nic Cage) does in the film, or if because I don't think that we are all just random particles, but here with a deadline to life, a finite one, or if the movie just affected me because it was harrowing and the finality of it just blew me away, sorry for the pun.
What separates this film from many or all other disaster films, is that in others of this ilk, there is a solution. Drill a hole in a giant meteor and we are all saved. Kill one of two meteors and we are mostly saved. Walk from Philadelphia to New York in three hours during a blizzard and we are saved. Armageddon this is not. The ideas in this film are different and they are ballsy. People get engulfed in flames. Mothers die while their kids are kidnapped. The Earth is scorched and incinerated. Kids are taken from their parents. Animals are shown burning up, people crash in an aircraft and they burn in front of your eyes. There are so many against the Hollywood protocol scenes in this film that I am shocked that the studio talking heads allowed some of the plot to take place.
Nic Cage is a fantastic actor when he has the right role and this is a perfect role for him. He has the unbelievable task of trying to figure out what he can do to save himself and his child and possibly the rest of the world. And this takes wide eyes, looks of disbelief and reaction of pure and unabashed terror and horror. He accomplishes this beautifully. The shot in the trailer with the plane coming down, and his reaction, is what got me into the theater. What you don't see is his reaction after the plane crash. He is on the precipice of insanity, hopelessness and bewilderment. He is a scientist, so how can a list of numbers from 50 years ago predict the future. It kind of goes against everything he is taught and now teaches. This is perhaps his best performance since Leaving Las Vegas.
Knowing might not be for everyone, but for me, this is the best film of the year so far. Alex Proyas has blown me away with his touch and the script writers have made an uncompromising and unflinching film about The Apocalypse. There are those who will say that the ending ruins it for them. But if you look at the ending as one possible Adam and Eve type scenario, then the ending is the most thought provoking part of the film. For those who don't like it or get it (I know how pretentious this looks when someone writes this, but for once, it is actually true) you should see it again. There are all kinds of questions raised when watching the film and there are even more to think about once you begin the drive home. This is not a simple film or one that will leave you quickly and quietly. And for those who complain about the ending, try to look at it without a jaded eye. The ending is perhaps the most intriguing part of the film. Adam and Eve. Genesis. The beginning of life all over again.
Knowing is the best film of this short year so far and it will make my top 10 for the year.
9.5/10