Dir: Jaume Collet-Serra Cast: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn
Unknown
U/A; Drama/Action
Dir: Jaume Collet-Serra
Cast: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn
Rating: ***1/2
WHAT'S IT ABOUT: Imagine waking up from a coma with a fragmented memory of who you are. Imagine that your wife claims that someone else is her husband. That you are out to figure out your identity despite this. That you have no document that proves you are who you say you are. That all the while there are people trying to keep this a secret by any means possible. Now imagine all this happening in the span of a week.
Crystal Ball by Keane comes to mind in the first 15 minutes. Watch the music video and you will know everything you need to know about this movie. Up to a point.
Or you could simply read the first paragraph again.
Neeson plays the man in the middle of it all, Jones plays his wife. Kruger plays the cabbie who saves his life more than once. Quinn plays the man who replaces Neeson in the scheme of things.
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WHAT'S HOT: You're hooked the moment Neeson's character gets out of the hospital and are reeled in for as long as the last few frames. For a yarn that's expected to spark intrigue and maintain interest, the film does a pretty good job. What works for this film is the sinking feeling you get when nothing works out for Neeson and no answers are forthcoming. It's all happening to him but the effect is very real for you. It hits home that this, in fact, could happen to you. And so, when the explanation does come, you don't see it coming. It's a bit of a letdown. Logical, yet a letdown.
Bruno Ganz (last seen in The Reader) as the unrepentant former Stasi spy, Ernst J rgen who now moonlights as a 'finder' is the find of this piece.
WHAT'S NOT: January Jones comes off as efficiently mysterious and has the looks to go with it. It's just that she has a penchant to repeat entire statements as questions. One might almost think she's a little hard of hearing. It's hard to say if the writers couldn't be bothered with writing out lyrics for her or if she really is that stupid. I have reason to believe the dialogue writers were, indeed, stuck in a rut at some point with Neeson going, "Arrest him, arrest him. I'm the real Martin Harris" to anyone who'd listen. Of course, he'd do this with the 'evidence' working against him again and again.
WHAT TO DO: Give it a shot. This one will linger in your memory as a flick that could have been so much better. Go for it!
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