Μύ Jim Caviezel, Greg Kinnear and Barry Pepper are among five men who wake up in a room, bloodied and beaten, without a clue how they got there in Unknown. First-time director Simon Brand got fair mileage out of a shoestring budget, crafting a "twisty, high-tension" thriller. A messy ending let him down though and the total lack of a marketing budget meant the film got buried at the box office.
Leap Of Faith
All the ups and downs of working on a micro-budget feature are explored in a 45-minute behind-the-scenes documentary. The producers dipped into their own pocket to get it off the ground, but it wasn't until Jim Caviezel signed up that all the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into the place. The erstwhile Messiah explains, "It's the best material I've read since Passion," citing the moral dilemma of his character (reluctant to believe he is one of the bad guys).
Barry Pepper talks about the importance of good humour and camaraderie on the set because a tight schedule means having to shoot 6-7 scenes a day. He adds that when you're dealing with time restrictions, "You've got to dig a lot deeper because you have to get it done."
B-roll footage reveals the actors briefly rehearsing key moments of action before having to nail it in one or two takes. Meanwhile Brand explains that he avoided "flashy" camera moves because he wanted it to be "all about the performances."
The Know How
Generally the production runs smoothly, but there are a few mishaps along the way. In one of the culminating fight scenes, Caviezel managed to break Peter Stormare's nose, but trooper that he is, Stormare just uttered the words "broken nose" quite nonchalantly and told Brand to keep the camera rolling. "I felt sick about it," insists Caviezel. Tell it to the guy with the wonky schnoz, Jim!
For all those budding directors out there, the documentary serves as a handy how-to guide. For everyone else, Unknown is the type of hardnosed thriller that rests on character dynamics rather than special effects and silly supernatural concepts. It may be flawed (in fact, it is), but it still stands out in an age where such films rarely see the light of day.
Unknown DVD is released on Monday 20th August 2007.
