UNKNOWN

US, 2006, 85 minutes, Colour.
James Caviezel, Greg Kinnear, Bridget Moynahan, Joe Pantoliano, Barry Pepper, Jeremy Sisto, Peter Stormare, Chris Mulkey, Mark Boone Jr, David Selby.
Directed by Simon Brand.

This is an intriguing 85 minute small budget feature starring a number of screen character actors. It is not only the presence of Joe Pantoliano that reminds movie buffs of Memento. This is a film about amnesia and attempts to recover memory.

The film opens in a drab and deserted factory out in the desert. Five men’s bodies lie lifeless until one comes to his senses. Gradually the other four also regain consciousness. They have been exposed to some almost lethal gas. But, they have lost their memories. Some flashes begin to remind them of what has happened. Initially hostile and suspicious, they eventually have to band together to defend themselves against the unknown men who are on their way.

The audience does have the advantage of knowing that there has been an abduction of some wealthy businessmen by a gang. But we don’t know who is who. In the meantime, the wife of one of them has to deliver the ransom money with the help of the police who have set matters up to apprehend the criminals. Of course, they don’t, so there are chases, desperate calls, collecting of information on the criminals.

The five men are played by Jim Caviezel, Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper, Joe Pantoliano and Jeremy Sisto. They get plenty of chances to be aggressive, despairing, bonding (with a great deal of angry and exasperated swearing) until we find out the real identities. Once again, one needs to wait to the very final shot to appreciate exactly what really happened.

Not a necessary film but it certainly has its moments.

1.An effective thriller? Mystery? Character study?

2.The small budget, the limited settings, the interiors of the warehouse, the different floors, the dinginess? The glimpses outside? The police precinct? The open roads? The diners? Southern California? The musical score?

3.The title, amnesia, the audience not knowing the characters or the plot? Moving from the unknown to the known? Secrets and lies? The final revelation?

4.The structure of the film: the scenes in the present, the bodies of the men, coming to consciousness, unable to remember, the interactions, tensions, bonding, waiting for people to come? The insertion of the scenes outside, at the bus station, the police precinct, on the road, the trucks? The flashbacks of memory – in the visual style? The gradual awareness?

5.The awakening of Jean Jacket? Jim Caviezel as sympathetic? Audiences presuming that he was on the side of good? His behaviour, seeming sincerity? The clashes with the man with the broken nose? Coles and the bonding between them? The bound man and his antagonism? The handcuffed man – and the later revelation of their friendship, the truth? His using his wits, the gun, trying to break the windows? The boy and the father outside? His gradually remembering? The irony of the truth – his seeming to be a criminal, with the gang, the criminals arriving, his being ordered to kill the abducted men? The irony of the revelation that he was undercover police? His seeing Eliza, the memory of the truth, his affair, the fact that he had planned the whole thing with her? The irony about the money? Did he have a moment of redemption or not?

6.The man with the broken nose, his being upset, aggressive? His violence, using his wits? The clashes, the bonding? The truth that he was abducted? His participation in the plans? His being bound, the grave being dug – and his dying and defending Jean Jacket?

7.The bound man, his taunts, memories? His eventually being freed? His aggression, not knowing whether he was on the side of good or not – and the final revelation, part of the criminal gang? His death?

8.The man in handcuffs, his dying, his speech about friendship, the memories with the Jean Jacket man?

9.Coles, seemingly good man, his accurate memories, the fact that he was abducted? Relationship with his wife? A man of calm, using his wits, aligning himself with Jean Jacket? The preparations for the arrival of the criminals? His survival? Reconciliation with his wife – and the ironies?

10.The chief criminal, his manner, the plan, with his henchmen? Getting the money, the drive, going to the warehouse? The confrontation, the violence – the grave, his ordering Jean Jacket to kill the prisoners? His death? The other men?

11.The police, at headquarters, the information, the charge list? Working with Eliza, her tension, the surveillance, putting the money in the locker, the cleaner, his being slow-witted, the police watching, the money gone? Her desperation? The appearances in the flashbacks, the flirtation in the bar, the plan for the crime?

12.The boy and his father, playing, going off – but giving the police the information?

13.How well did the unknown move to the known – with twists in terms of character, motivation? A story of greed, malice?