Movie · 2009 · Action, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller · 2h 1m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 1.0/10 (417K ratings)
What happens when the numbers run out?
Overview
A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.
Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury, Ben Mendelsohn, Nadia Townsend, Terry Camilleri, Lara Robinson, Adrienne Pickering, Danielle Carter, Alethea McGrath, David Lennie, D.G. Maloney, Alan Hopgood, Joshua Long, Tamara Donnellan, Travis Waite, Liam Hemsworth, Harli Ames, Alyssa McClelland, Gareth Yuen
Curator Review
Verdict
A tense, propulsive disaster-mystery with a strong central performance and a genuinely eerie first two-thirds, but it ultimately splits audiences with a wildly overreaching finale. If you like apocalyptic paranoia, occult-adjacent sci-fi, and Nicolas Cage at full intensity, it has plenty to offer.
Best for
viewers who enjoy high-concept disaster thrillers
fans of Nicolas Cage’s unhinged-but-committed performances
people who like ominous mystery setups and big apocalyptic stakes
audiences open to a movie that becomes stranger and more metaphysical as it goes
Skip if
you want a grounded, logically tidy sci-fi story
you dislike melodramatic or absurd endings
you prefer subtle performances over big emotional swings
you’re easily frustrated by movies that trade coherence for spectacle
Overview
Knowing starts as a sleek, unnerving puzzle box: numbers, predictions, disasters, and a father trying to understand what his son has stumbled into. Alex Proyas gives it a glossy, doom-laden atmosphere, and the early stretches are effective at turning everyday anxieties into something cosmic and fatalistic.
Worth noting
The movie’s reputation rests on its ending, and that reputation is deserved. For some viewers it’s a thrilling leap into metaphysical apocalypse; for others it’s a hard left turn into nonsense. Either way, it’s the kind of finale that redefines the whole experience, for better or worse.
Bottom line
What keeps it watchable is Nicolas Cage, who grounds the film in grief, panic, and increasingly volatile obsession. It’s an odd, ambitious studio thriller that feels more personal and stranger than its premise suggests, even when it overplays its hand.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Josh Lewis (3★) · 3324 likes
Nic Cage googles 9/11.
Felipe F. (2.5★) · 1318 likes
This is like an actually pretty good movie with a very interesting concept and then the ending is like "oh, you're liking this? Well here's some bullshit".
Seriously, this is such a fun and thrilling movie until it decides it wants to be stupid as fuck for no reason in the last fifteen minutes or so.
Evan (3★) · 947 likes
There's nothing on this Earth quite like a Nicolas Cage freakout. It's truly an art form.
comrade_yui (5★) · 678 likes
this is my favorite m. night shyamalan film
Nathan Rabin (3.5★) · 676 likes
How'd the earth get burned!?! How'd it get burned!?!
2001 · Fantasy, Drama, Mystery · 1h 54m · R · Curator 8.7/10 (3.2M ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, fuboTV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
For its ominous prophecy, suburban unease, and willingness to keep the audience slightly off-balance.