Movie Review: Unknown

Dr Martin Harris(Liam Neeson) arrives in Berlin with his wife Elizabeth(January Jones). Martin plans to attend a biotechnology summit hosted in the city. After arriving at the hotel, Liz proceeds to check into the hotel while Martin collects the luggage from the cabbie. When Martin checks the luggage, he is unable to locate his suitcase. So, he rushes back to the airport in a taxicab driven by Gina(Diane Kruger) without even informing his wife. On the way to the airport, the cab meets with an accident. Martin is knocked unconscious and is saved by Gina. In the confusion after the accident, Gina disappears into the crowd.

Four days later, Martin wakes up from coma in a German hospital. As there were no identification papers on him, the hospital authorities were unable to inform his immediate family. Martin suffers from memory loss due to the trauma and concussion resulting from the accident. But he is able to recall Liz and certain details of his life. When he realizes that Liz has been in a strange city for the past four days, he persuades the hospital authorities to release him. He rushes to the hotel.

At the hotel, Martin has trouble establishing his identity. He manages to convince the security in charge to take him to his wife who is attending a party. But Liz does not recognize him. To his shock and bewilderment, he meets another man(Aidan Quinn) who claims to be Liz’s husband, Dr Martin Harris. Now, Martin is confused. Is this a conspiracy or flight of fantasy? Martin tries to get to the bottom of the mystery with the help of Gina and an ex-Stasi agent Ernst Jurgen(Bruno Ganz).

Jaume Collet-Serra directs this thriller which is adapted from the novel of Didier van Cauweleart. The movie veers into the identity crisis of Martin and his dilemmas. Then, it suddenly takes a turn and becomes a thriller. Before the shift, the viewer is confused as to what the movie has to offer. Another drawback is the inability to explain how the former Stasi agent stumbles upon the conspiracy. The adaptation fails.

Liam Neeson as Martin rises above the script. Martin is so taken aback by the events unfurling in front of him that he even suspect his memories. It is at this point Liam excels.

This is watchable only for Liam’s acting. For that, you can wait for the DVD.

Language: English

Genre: Thriller

Rating: **

Tags: Movies,Liam Neeson,Diane Kruger,Jaume Collet-Serra,Thriller