| Unknown | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jaume Collet-Serra |
| Written by |
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| Based on | Out of My Head byDidier Van Cauwelaert |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Flavio Labiano |
| Edited by | Tim Alverson |
| Music by | |
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Running time | 113 minutes |
| Countries | |
| Language | English[1] |
| Budget | $30[3]–40[5] million |
| Box office | $136.1 million[6] |
Unknown is a 2011action thriller film directed byJaume Collet-Serra and starringLiam Neeson,Diane Kruger,January Jones,Aidan Quinn,Bruno Ganz, andFrank Langella.[7] The film, produced byJoel Silver,Leonard Goldberg and Andrew Rona, is based on the 2003 French novel byDidier Van Cauwelaert published in English asOut of My Head which was adapted as the film's screenplay by Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell.[8] The narrative centers around a professor who wakes up from a four-day long coma and sets out to prove his identity after no one recognizes him, including his own wife, and another man claims to be him.
Released on 18 February 2011, the film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $136 million against its $30 million budget.
Martin Harris and his wife Liz arrive inBerlin for abiotechnology summit. At their hotel, Harris realizes he left his briefcase at the airport so takes a taxi to retrieve it.
The taxi is involved in an accident and crashes into theSpree, knocking him unconscious. The driver rescues him but flees the scene. Harris regains consciousness at a hospital after being in a coma for four days.
When Harris returns to the hotel, he finds Liz with another man. She says this man is her husband and declares she does not know Harris. The police are called, and Harris attempts to prove his identity by calling a colleague named Rodney Cole, to no avail.
Harris writes down his schedule for the next day from memory. When he visits the office of Professor Leo Bressler, whom he is scheduled to meet, "Dr. Harris" is already there. As Harris attempts to prove his identity, "Harris" provides identification and a family photo, both of which have his face.
Overwhelmed by theidentity crisis, Harris loses consciousness and awakens back at the hospital. A terrorist named Smith kills Harris's attending nurse, but Harris is able to escape from him.
Harris seeks help from a private investigator and formerStasi agent Ernst Jürgen. Harris's only clues are his father's book on botany and Gina, the taxi driver, an undocumentedBosnian immigrant who has been working at a diner since the crash.
While Harris persuades Gina to help him, Jürgen researches Harris and the biotechnology summit, discovering it is to be attended by Prince Shada ofSaudi Arabia. The prince is funding a secret project headed by Bressler, and has survived numerous assassination attempts. Jürgen suspects that the identity theft might be related.
Harris and Gina are attacked in her apartment by Smith and another terrorist, Jones; they escape after Gina kills Smith. Harris finds that Liz has written a series of numbers in his book, numbers that correspond to words found on specific pages. Using his schedule, Harris confronts Liz alone; she tells him that he left his briefcase at the airport.
Meanwhile, Jürgen receives Cole at his office and reveals his findings of a secret terrorist group known as Section 15. Jürgen soon deduces that Cole is a former mercenary and member of the group. Realizing he is there to interrogate and kill him, and with no way of escape, Jürgen takes cyanide to protect Harris.
After retrieving his briefcase, Harris parts ways with Gina. When she sees him kidnapped by Cole and Jones, she steals a taxi and follows them. When Harris awakes, Cole explains that "Martin Harris" is just a cover name created by Harris. His head injury caused him to believe the cover persona was real; when Liz notified Cole of the injury, the other
"Harris" was activated as his replacement. Gina runs over Jones before he can kill Harris, then rams Cole's van off a ledge, killing him as well. After Harris finds a hidden compartment in his briefcase containing two Canadian passports, he remembers that he and Liz were in Berlin three months earlier, planting a bomb in Prince Shada's suite.
Now aware of his own role in the assassination plot, Harris seeks to redeem himself by thwarting it. Hotel security immediately arrests Harris and Gina, but he proves his earlier visit to the hotel. After security is convinced of the bomb's presence, they evacuate the hotel.
Harris realizes that Section 15's target is not Prince Shada, but Bressler, who has developed a genetically modified breed of corn capable of surviving harsh climates. Liz accesses Bressler's laptop and steals the data. With Bressler's death and the theft of his research, billions of dollars would fall into the wrong hands.
Seeing that the assassination attempt has been foiled, Liz tries to disarm the bomb but fails and is killed when it explodes. Harris kills "Harris", the last remaining Section 15 terrorist, before he can murder Bressler. As Bressler announces that he is giving his project to the world for free, Harris and Gina—with new identities—board a train together.
Principal photography took place in early February 2010 inBerlin, Germany, and in theStudio Babelsberg film studios.[7] The bridge the taxi plunges from is theOberbaumbrücke. TheFriedrichstraße was blocked for several nights for the shooting of a car chase. Some of the shooting was done in theHotel Adlon. Locations include theNeue Nationalgalerie,Berlin Hauptbahnhof,Berlin Friedrichstraße station,Pariser Platz,Museum Island, theOranienburger Straße in Berlin and theLeipzig/Halle Airport.[9] According to Andrew Rona, the budget was $40 million.[10] ProducerJoel Silver's US companyDark Castle Entertainment contributed $30 million.[11] German public film funds supported the production with €4.65 million (more than $6 million).[12] The working title wasUnknown White Male.
Unknown was screened out of competition at the61st Berlin International Film Festival.[13] It was released in the United States on 18 February 2011.
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 56% of 201 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Liam Neeson elevates the proceedings considerably, butUnknown is ultimately too derivative – and implausible – to take advantage of its intriguing premise."[14]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 56 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[15] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[16]
Richard Roeper gave the film a B+ and wrote, "At times,Unknown stretches plausibility to the near breaking point, but it's so well paced and the performances are so strong and most of the questions are ultimately answered. This is a very solid thriller."[17] Justin Chang ofVariety called it "an emotionally and psychologically threadbare exercise".[18]
Unknown grossed $63.7 million in North America and $72.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $136.1 million.
It finished at number one opening at its first week of release with $21.9 million.[19]
In June 2021, it was announced that a sequel television series based on the film is in development atTNT. The project will be produced by Dark Castle Entertainment where Sean Finegan will write the pilot,Karl Gajdusek andSpeed Weed will serve as executive producers and show runners, Neeson also will serve as executive producer and Collet-Serra will direct the pilot and executive produce.[20]
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