Image from Mattfind.com
Liam Neeson stars as Dr. Martin Harris, a scientist who arrives in Berlin for an ecological conference with his wife, played by January Jones. As they arrive at their hotel, he discovers that his briefcase hasn’t made the trip from the airport, so he scares up a cab and heads back. Unfortunately, on his return trip to the airport, his cab is involved in an accident and winds up in a river. He is saved by his quick-thinking cabbie, played by Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds).
He awakens four days later in a hospital. When he’s able to track down his wife, she appears not to recognize him – even worse, she’s with a man who claims to be Harris. But this can’t be, because Neeson is Harris, right? So who’s this guy? Does it have anything to do with this apparently important conference, at which another scientist is scheduled to make an Important Announcement, a conference to be attended by a Saudi prince?
It might. Because this is one of those movies where there are few coincidences. Movies like this can often fold under their own weight. They make you believe one thing, then bam! That thing turns out to be a lie. It is sometimes so with this one, but not so much as with others and not really until well into the movie.
Harris must try to retrace his steps. He can’t remember why he was in the cab without his wife. He can’t remember a lot of things. He does manage to track the cabbie down, and together they try to piece the puzzle. The fact that a major conference is the center of all this tells you where the action is likely to culminate. There is intrigue afoot; obviously Neeson and this other guy – played by Aidan Quinn – can’t both be Dr. Martin Harris. So is Neeson crazy? Have false memories been implanted. He really has no idea.
I didn’t, either, but that was part of the fun of it. I did find Unknown to be largely entertaining, thanks in part to Neeson’s usual intense performance. The movie may feel a little derivative, perhaps of films like Roman Polanski’s Frantic or even Neeson’s more-recent Taken. And it is. Still, to me it was one of those movies that feels like an amusement-park ride, just one you’ve been on before.
One element that did bother me was the casting of Jones as Neeson’s purported wife. They don’t seem to have any chemistry together; in fact, they looked more like father and daughter than husband and wife to me. It’s no wonder, really; Neeson is 26 years older than Jones is. When they stand side by side, they don’t appear as equals of any sort (in part because Neeson’s pretty tall), and that makes for an odd pairing. It’s tougher to believe she’s his wife than it is to believe he’s not who he thinks he is, and that’s not a small flaw for the film to have.
Unknown is one of those movies that doles out just enough information to keep the protagonist wondering what’s going on, never so much to allow him to figure much out. This necessitates more action, of course, and Unknown does deliver those goods very well. The initial crash into the river is horrific and jarring; it feels real, not animated with CGI. And there are several pulse-pounding car chases throughout Berlin that make good use of the city’s scenery.
I think that, with a lesser actor cast as the lead, Unknown might have been a pretty pedestrian film. But Neeson is terrific as the conflicted man who’s barely sure of his own name. Kruger is also dynamic as the immigrant cabbie; she seems to rise up to Neeson’s stature, whereas Jones nearly wilts.
Overall, you could do worse than Unknown. Neeson certainly has, with Clash of the Titans. But even though he’s good in this, the result isn’t terribly memorable, no pun intended. It’s more of a temporary engagement, a blip in his career.
Unknown: ***
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