Most thrillers released these days end up becoming predictable B-Grade slop, that’s why it is worth celebrating when one as good as ‘Unknown’ surfaces. This is one thriller that can be honestly called ‘equal to anything Hitchcock ever released’. The story is fresh, the action actually work and for once you have a thriller on your hands where you aren’t going to be able to predict the twist before it happens on the screen.
Based on Didier Van Cauwelaert’s novel ‘Out Of My Head’, ‘Unknown’ picks up as Dr Martin Harris (Liam Neeson – ‘The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader’, ‘The Next Three Days’) and his wife, Elizabeth (January Jones – ‘The Boat That Rocked’, TV’S ‘Mad Men’) arrive in London so Martin can give a speech at a Bio Tech conference. However, after Martin is a car accident he awakes in hospital only to find another man (Aidan Quinn – ‘Across The Line: The Exodus Of Charlie Wright’, ‘Festival Of Lights’) claiming to be Dr Martin Harris, and that Elizabeth also fails to recognize him. Confused, Martin hunts down, Gina (Diane Kruger – ‘Inhale’, ‘Lily Sometimes’) the taxi driver (and illegal immigrant) who saved his life, and Ernst Jurgen (Bruno Ganz – ‘The End Is The Beginning’, ‘Colors In The Dark’), an ex-Secret Police Officer to help him work out what has happened.
Director, Jaume Collet-Serra (‘Orphan’, ‘Goal II: Living The Dream’) is really on a winner here. Aside from a couple of those awful Hollywood clichés that manage to sneak in, ‘Unknown’ really is a thriller that keeps the audience constantly guessing while on the edge of their seat. The script provides the right mix of drama and action and Collet-Serra manages to capture the action in such a way that it actually feels like it fits in the film’s storyline and hasn’t just been included to make the trailer look good. But what makes ‘Unknown’ really work is the fact that the script has been well-thought out and the story actually works… you won’t find yourself scratching your head and thinking ‘that is too unbelievable to sit right with me.’ Even more amazing is the fact that we have a new release thriller where you can’t see the twist coming.
Acting wise the big winners are January Jones and Diane Kruger. Yes, Liam Neeson has most of the screen time, and while he is very good he really is just playing the same character he always seems to pull out when called to do an action-thriller. Jones breaks free of her TV career and shows some genuine talent while Kruger absolutely shines. She shows all the actresses in the world that it is possible to show some acting range when starring in an action-thriller.
‘Unknown’ is proof that creative minds can still create genuinely good thrillers that work on all levels. If you want a thriller that keeps you guessing right up until the end then you simply must see ‘Unknown’. This is a great thriller that will re-ignite your faith in the thriller genre.
