2009 Backtrack

Last Wednesday I reviewed Unknown, the latest film starring outstanding actor Liam Neeson as an amnesic tourist who goes from trying to rediscover his life to fighting for it. I mentioned the similarities pointed out by others to his earlier film from two years ago, another thriller called Taken. A startling turning point in Neeson's career, it was easy to bridge the gap between the two films. With similar mood, plenty of violence and enough action to pique the senses, it was obvious filmmakers were trying to copy the commercial success of Taken, which debuted number one at the box office and was one of the most talked-about films of the year. Some of you noticed however my admittance that I had not actually seen Taken, and commented to me as to how amazing a film it was. Considering I wasn't seeing a whole lot of modern films at the time it was released, I knew it by mainly reputation. Despite being ultimately underwhelmed by Unknown's unbelievability, I was intrigued enough to get on board with seeing this earlier film. And so, getting my hands on a copy (thanks to Jeff for that) I got home from work, ordered some take-out, popped the DVD in the player, and sat back to see what everybody has been talking about.

They're not exactly the perfect family

Liam Neeson stars as a former CIA operative named Bryan Mills, who is living in retirement after a long career. Serving his country did a lot of good for the world but strained his relationships with his wife and daughter. His wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) divorced him and eventually got a new, rich husband (Xander Berkeley), and Bryan is trying desperately to stay in tough with his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), but the long years apart and a controlling Lenore keep Bryan at arm's length. Just turned seventeen, Kim and a friend want to travel to Paris, but need Milton's permission because she's underage. He eventually gives it, but his initial concerns are confirmed when, the day the pair arrive in Paris, they are kidnapped by an Albanian group that focuses on human sex trafficking. Immediately setting off for France, Milton decides to call upon all his years of training to get his daughter back as quickly as possible, because in ninety-six hours' time she will have disappeared forever.

Yeah, I would surrender right about now

Taken is an excellently-made film and much of what the film does well can be directly attributed to director Pierre Moret. An experienced cinematographer, this was only his second feature film but doesn't feel like a rookie job. It's obvious he learned a lot from working with directors such as Louis Leterrier, Corey Yuen and Luc Besson, who also produced the film and is credited as one of its screenwriters. The camerawork is amazing, the action sequences impeccably filmed, and the story told strongly enough to stand up under some scrutiny. Most well done (and possibly most important) is Moret's ability to properly set the mood of each scene, from a joyous birthday party to a gritty slum setting. Getting that scene right so your actors give a more believable performance is key here, and the director nails it.

"... Are you calling me COLLECT??"

Speaking of acting, THIS was exactly the performance I had been hoping to see from Liam Neeson ever since this film's debut. Even though early on, Neeson plays the guy more than happy to get away from the career he left behind, he also looks completely at home in scenes which might not have been condoned by the Geneva Convention. When he tells one of Kim's kidnappers over the phone "I will kill you," you give yourself willingly over to the idea that he WILL do it, and anything else to get his daughter back. The film often feels like a one-man show, but that works out fine considering Neeson is that one man. Maggie Grace was okay, but she doesn't quite pull off playing a seventeen-year-old. Trying a bit too hard to play the "adorable" daughter, she comes off as somewhat false in most of her scenes, only really any good during the pivotal scene in which she's kidnapped. Famke Janssen could have been more interesting as Bryan's ex, but the role never goes beyond the cliche of "distrustful ex." Her ignorance of the world outside her tiny bubble is supposed to be a foil to our hero's near-paranoid experience, but the part is so small and somewhat brief as to dull that sensation. Other potentially interesting characters played by Berkeley, Leland Orser and Olivier Rabourdin don't get as much attention as they probably could have, either. It really is all Neeson, all the time, but I'd be lying if I said that wasn't satisfying all by itself.

Eventually he decided to go beyond just showing the photo around

The film lacks in anything akin to a main antagonist. The reason for this is when Bryan meets one, he kills the bad guy with such efficiency that it's time to move up to the next challenge. Taking bad guys out constantly actually works a lot toward exposing the several layers that expose how real sex trafficking works, from the makeshift brothels and the kidnapping squads to the corrupt police and major businessmen who see kidnapped women as "assets" and not humans. You might not even realize it until after the final credits roll just how scary the real thing is to the women who simply disappear from polite society by the hundreds. That alone puts this film far ahead of its contemporaries by painting a real world problem into a fictional tale of redemption and rescue.

A traffic dispute gone horribly wrong

Taking a page from "current" action films, most notably the Bourne series of films, Taken is an explosive thrill ride with some real social messages to convey. Without Neeson's obvious talents to raise it up, it would probably have been a fine, above-average enjoyable and forgettable genre film with some interesting ideas. Neeson's perfect casting however means that for the ninety-plus minutes you are watching this film, you will be unable to take your eyes from what is happening on the screen. The ending might be a little too pat, but I would still easily argue it as among the best modern action films based on Neeson alone.

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Taken into the Unknown

In 2008, Liam Neeson made an interesting career move when he starred in the thriller Taken. In that film, he played the vengeful father of a teen kidnapped by human traffickers while on a trip through Europe. It was considered a dark and startling film (no, I'm afraid I missed it), and the Irish-born actor really made an impact with his gritty, physical role that was unlike so much of his career to date. On top of that, it was a box office success, confirming that Neeson made an excellent choice moving to the thriller genre despite enjoying much success in more traditional dramas... and Star Wars. Typically when thinking of Neeson's career you imagine his romantic comedies, period pieces, and strictly serious fare. You think of Schindler's List. Taken probably shouldn't have worked. Instead, it put new life and a nice twist on Neeson's resume. Well, three years later he's trying to repeat history by doing the exact same thing. The film he's attempting to accomplish this with is Unknown, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, based on the novel by French author Didier van Cauwelaert. In this new release, Neeson's character is faced with the loss of more than a mere daughter, and the film was the main reason people made their way to the theaters this past weekend.

"You're going to be Taken... no wait, wrong script"

Neeson plays Dr. Martin Harris, a scientist who arrives in Berlin to make a presentation at a biotechnology summit held in the city. Arriving with his wife Liz (Mad Men's January Jones), Martin suffers a head wound in a traffic accident involving his taxi and wakes up after several days in the hospital with no knowledge of how he got there. Worse, when he finally finds his wife, she doesn't seem to recognize him, along what we are led to believe is an impostor Martin Harris (Aiden Quinn) who has ample proof that he's who he says he is, while Neeson's Martin has none. Is the man who thinks his name is Martin Harris suffering from brain damage? Or is he somehow being replaced, for some nefarious purpose?

Still better than The Phantom Menace

While Taken seems to have had some basis in plausible real-world scenarios (the trailer came complete with basic statistics on human trafficking and sex slavery), the same cannot really be said for Unknown. While identity theft is certainly a major problem in the world, even moreso thanks to the wonder that is everybody's personal information online, the story presented here takes it to such a ridiculous degree as to be both unlikely and unbelievable. What comes of this is a film that doesn't make much sense from scene to scene, which actually works since we as the audience aren't meant to understand what's happening until nearly the final credits. We're constantly wondering whether Martin Prime is the real deal or somehow just very knowledgeable of the real thing; we really wonder whether the main character is simply suffering from serious brain damage or is really having his life stripped from him unceremoniously. This is helped by taut pacing that varies between supporting either side of the argument, while never dropping us into a situation where we have no interest.

Seriously... She's German... playing a Bosnian... IN BERLIN

There can be little doubt that this film wouldn't make a dent on the American psyche without the stellar acting of Neeson. Much of the movie has him playing the every-man, and his believable distrust of his own memory pretty much makes the film as inviting as it is. Of course, he also gets to play the bad-ass, but that comes slowly, with Neeson playing the reactor much of the time, not the instigator. As that builds, we get to see his whole world fall apart, until he gets the gumption to do something about it. Diane Kruger plays an illegal Bosnian immigrant who helps Martin try to figure out what has happened. While it's odd to see a German actress play a Bosnian immigrant IN GERMANY, Kruger does a decent job with the role. Like Neeson, she also plays an everyday person, like so many trying to get out of the rut in which they find themselves. January Jones is one of those actresses who seems so out of place in this era. She would have been a natural in the days of Marilyn Monroe, but in this era there's only one role she seems to play, the seemingly innocent and frustrated housewife. There are few actresses I would accuse of being merely a pretty face, but unless Jones shows some more variety in her acting talents, I really don't want to see her play anything other than Betty Draper. Aiden Quinn is great as the "impostor" Martin, with some of the film's better scenes involving the two Dr. Harris' dialogues. Sebastian Koch has a small and unimportant role, and is only notable for his earlier performance in the excellent Lives of Others. Frank Langella has an uninteresting role that is nonetheless important to the film's plot. Since being nominated for that Oscar, Langella has certainly enjoyed his career resurgence. It's a shame not all his roles he's carried since then are worth watching. The best of this cast (besides Neeson, of course) might be Swiss actor Bruno Ganz as a former Stasi agent who agrees to help Martin learn who he really is. Ganz's character Jurgen reflects on how the German people are so good at forgetting, citing their ignorance of Nazi rule and forty years of communism, and prides himself on never forgetting and being proud of his history, making him easily the film's most original and interesting role.

You REALLY don't want to know what they're seeing right now...

Unknown's story is almost completely unbelievable, lacking any restraint to bring the narrative down to a reasonable level. This at times results in the film being unintentionally funny. When Neeson and Quinn try to convince Dr. Bressler (Koch) that they alone are the real Martin Harris, they deliver the same lines at the same time and with the same tremors in their voices, resulting in roaring laughter from the audience in what is supposed to be a serious moment. I wouldn't be surprised if the scene had the same effect on the players during filming, either. The dark moods of the film also have the effect of making even small one liners much funnier than they actually are. Of course, then someone gets knocked off and you're back in first gear, but the sad thing is that these scenes aren't even the film at its silliest. Yes, the plot is THAT flimsy.

"It's okay, it's almost over"

It might be time to stop taking things from Liam Neeson. Seriously, I can only wonder what revenge he would seek upon those who switch his coffee for Folger's Crystals. Still, he's the one thing that made Unknown as enjoyable as it was, and good for #2 right now on the year's Top 10. Still, you know where this is headed. Every few years someone takes something special from Neeson, and he goes on a rampage trying to get it back. Eventually it has to stop. Don't get me wrong, I mostly enjoyed Unknown; I just think that after moonlighting the thriller genre for a few years, it's high time he went back to films that have the ability to use him at his full potential, not ones that use his many talents just getting closer to that glass ceiling. And no, I'm not talking about Star Wars.

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