Do you really know who you are? Or is everything you tnink you know as true really just a dream…or a nightmare? That’s the problem Dr. Martin Harris has in the movie titled Unknown. The world he knows and the world he’s in aren’t quite the same.
As the Movie Opens…
The main character in this movie is Dr. Martin Harris, played by Liam Neeson. He and his wife Liz (played by January Jones) are in Berlin for a conference. Arriving at the hotel after their flight, Martin realizes that his briefcase is nowhere to be found. He finds a cab and asks to be taken back to the airport.
So far so good, but that’s the last time Martin was in this world (so to speak). This is because the cab he hailed is about to have an accident. Trying to avoid a refrigerator falling off a truck ahead of her, taxi driver Gina (played by Diane Kruger) swerves and ends up going off a bridge into a river.
Martin is knocked unconscious, but Gina saves him, then mysteriously disappears. Martin’s in a coma, and that is just the beginning of his problems!
How’s Your Memory?
When Martin wakes up from his 4-day coma and his world is not the way he left it. Back at the hotel, Liz has no idea who he is, and another man (played by Adian Quinn) says that he is the real Dr. Martin Harris.
Nonplussed, the real Martin (Neeson) heads on over to speak with Professor Bressler (played by Sebastian Koch), who he knows professionally. Martin sees the professor with the other Martin (Quinn – hereafter referred to as “Martin 2″). Trying to unravel the mystery only makes it deeper – Martin 2 shows him family photos, only they show Martin 2′s face.
Still following along? Well, the plot gets even more complicated, because it turns out that Martin really isn’t who he thinks he is…instead, he’s a terrorist, who has gone to the conference to assassinate one of the presenters.
You see, when Martin was in the car accident, his memory really was lost, and only his most recent memories – of being someone called Dr. Martin Harris – remain with him. He finally finds Liz, and she confirms that he really is someone else. The only way he can solve the riddle of who he is, is by finding that briefcase.
Needless to say, Martin finds out, but there are a lot of plot twists and turns along the way to that discovery.
Should You See Unknown?
Critics and audiences have a little different take on this particular movie. The critics weren’t happy with it, feeling it was just a confusing movie. The audiences were happier (apparently they weren’t as easily confused as the critics were).
If you like suspense drama, it’s a movie you may want to go and see. If you don’t like complicated plot twists, though, you may want to pass. In any case, the word is that Neeson does a good job in the movie.