It’s no Taken, if that’s what you were hoping for. The glorious revenge-tastic sleeper hit of yesteryear that launched Liam Neeson as an unlikely leading action man does get brought to mind here, not least because of its European setting (Berlin) and Neeson (as amnesia-riddled doctor Martin Harris) on a one-man mission to put right the injustices served against him. But Unknown is not Taken 2 and it’s worth bearing that in mind to allow the film the right to entertain on its own terms – because taken as the more psychological and intricate thriller that it is, Unknown is pretty good.
It’s a good premise. Doctor Harris is attending a scientific function in Berlin accompanied by his wife (January Jones, channelling the inscrutable veneer of Betty Draper). Barely five minutes in Germany and Harris is involved in a car accident and awakes days later, suffering swiss-cheesed memory issues. But that’s the least of his problems when he catches up with his wife who claims not to know him and, furthermore, there’s another guy (Aidan Quinn) claiming to be Dr Harris whom his wife verifies is actually her husband.
It’s a good premise. Doctor Harris is attending a scientific function in Berlin accompanied by his wife (January Jones, channelling the inscrutable veneer of Betty Draper). Barely five minutes in Germany and Harris is involved in a car accident and awakes days later, suffering swiss-cheesed memory issues. But that’s the least of his problems when he catches up with his wife who claims not to know him and, furthermore, there’s another guy (Aidan Quinn) claiming to be Dr Harris whom his wife verifies is actually her husband.
Has the accident somehow confused Harris’ memory of who he is with someone else? Or are there people trying to take his life for their own purposes? Harris attempts to find out, but with few allies, an increasing body count and people in dark cars following him around those crucial truths aren’t to be unearthed easily.
It’s a good premise backed up by what turns out to be a decent conceit. I was initially concerned. Harris actually forgets a suitcase at the airport entirely accidentally that contains his identification and, the moment it happened, I worried that the whole movie was going to have depended on this entirely random event. Thankfully Unknown is smarter than that – it addresses the problems and eventually provides relatively coherent answers. Hollywood is usually good at creating a strong premise, not so good at following it through – on this level Unknown shows class.
Neeson anchors the film; rarely a scene goes by without him being present. Whilst he does little beyond the range you’ve seen him display in, yes, the likes of Taken he is suited to the bewildered but tenacious protagonist here. He doesn’t stomp around cracking skulls left, right and centre (the misleading trailer evidently looking to capture some of the Taken box office) but his character does display some top notch driving skills in a pulse-racing chase sequence. Check out how brilliantly this guy can reverse!
But this isn’t a film about action, as stated, as much as the movie often feels like a major action set piece is about to be unleashed. Indeed, Bruno Ganz appears as an ex-Soviet secret service in a role that a) keeps the plot turning but b) allows for a more refined, subtle reflection on the subject matter. The poise of some of his scenes are perhaps ill-fitting to the rest of the mood but I couldn’t help but feel more of that and less of the other would have aided Unknown immensely. Meanwhile, in a bizarre quirk of casting, the German actress Diane Kruger appears here as an Eastern European taxi driver who is thrust alongside Harris as forces close in around them. They’re a bit of a mismatch but she’s convincing enough (compare and contrast with her leaden Helen of Troy in Troy) and she sure looks great in a vest top.
The biggest problem I had with Unknown was with its climax. When the curtains are pulled open and the secrets revealed it still leaves plot ends to tie up and a conclusion to be reached – and it’s in this aspect does the movie fumble. Hasty bomb plots, assassination attempts and ‘baddies’ that don’t feel worthy of a climactic finale. The film ends with a feeling of ‘is that it all done then?’ before the unlikely closing coda creates more dubious connotations about what our heroes do next.
Profound questions about the self, about how your memories form your personality and inform who you are, get dodged in favour of the next piece of plot to maintain the film’s momentum. Like I said, it’s when the film briefly sidesteps this impetus for more introspective, quiet moments does it hint at more interesting fare. How great a movie got squandered in favour of being a faux Taken 2 is unknown, but Unknown still recalls a classy take on familiar thriller material that will, in some portion, linger longer in the memory than other movies of the same genre.
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