Introduction 3
Background of the Movie 3
Conclusion 7
Reference 7
Unknown (2011): Movie Review
Introduction
When it comes to the idea of losing one’s identity comes into mind, the challenges could be daunting. Identity, as it is, is a very important factor that defines one’s capacity to live by his being; a characteristic that people will know of and identify him along with such personal marks. Along with one’s identities are his rights; hence, when such identity is taken, one might feel to be at a loss. This particular theme is presented on the plot of the story of the movie Unknown, which was released for public appreciation in 2011.
With all the twists and turns of the situation that represented the overall storyline of the movie, several conditions of identity theft and how it is won over by the protagonist of the story is the primary indication of success that distinctively gave the movie ‘Unknown’ a relatively distinct consideration and attention from the audience. Relatively, the movie also highlights particular points of distinction on how the law has been breached several times and how the situation was taken over and resolved accordingly by the protagonist himself.
Background of the Movie
The entire plot is based on an exposition on how politics works and how it endangers the lives of several public figures especially in consideration to what these personalities support and give attention to as ‘servants of the public’. Relatively, the movie entails to present how supposedly good projects that have the capacity to end or at least ease out the current situations in the society are being halted and are subjected to several anomalies due to the budget provisions they get; while others see such opportunities to serve the needs of the public, some others see it as a means of gaining profit.
D. Martin Harris, one of the developers of the new corn variety that is supposedly going to earmark his career in the science and development department, was set to attend the biotechnology summit. Along the way though, accidents occur subjecting him to change his route. Gina, the driver of the taxicab he rode [which got into an accident], took him to a distant place where he was able to recover from the situation. However, upon learning what has happened, Martin tried to find his way back immediately and take on from where he left off. However, upon finding his way, he also finds out that someone else is pretending to be him, taking his place in the summit. Confused about the situation, He tries to retrace his steps and find a way to make the people know that he is indeed Dr. Martin Harris and not the impostor who was playing his role.
As he was already beginning to find out about the truth, he was taken out and within such time, he learned that the theft of his identity was to follow a plot that aims to assassinate Prince Shada of Saudi Arabia, the primary funder of the project being pursued in the summit. The death of the Prince basically means the death of the project whereas the money he would be giving out for such huge condition of development could be accounted for immediately and used for other means. Relatively, with such plot, Martin knew that his name would be given a bad mark and his identity would completely be useless for him to take back.
Instead of considering the need to take back his identity, Martin decides to set things straight first. Going on a mission to save the prince and stop the assassination was the ultimate goal he took to be able to assure the clarity of his name on the case. To do this, he convinced several individual who he was and took the attention of the authorities in the matter. In the end, the prince was saved but Martin, unable to take back his identity, boarded a train with Gina with new identities in their hands.
Concept of Law
The act of stealing one’s identity often happens in relation to particular plots that are designed to distinctively involve a particular person’s connections (Feinman, 2010). The way a person is connected to another provides an opportunity for others who might have a plan of gaining control of such connections. For some, identity theft is done to take over the life of another through gaining control of his assets and the matters that define him. Most often than not, individuals who get involved in such situations have ranks and particularly exceptional identities in the society. As seen in the movie, Martin was a doctor of science who had a large role in determining particular situations in the society and how specific problems could be resolved accordingly. Being in such a position, Martin enjoys the possibility of mingling with the high ranking officials in the community; this was the primary reason why he was taken out and his identity taken away from him. It was his connections and his position that appeared specifically inviting to his [supposed] enemies.
One more consideration in relation to law would be that of the existence of Negligence of Duty (Feinman, 2010) on the part of Gina. If she was caught, had she not protected Martin and kept them both away from the vision of the public and the law enforcers, she would have been tried in court for negligence. Not only that, she was also noted as an illegal immigrant; with this in consideration, the operator of the taxi she was driving would also be dragged into the case. If proven guilty in court, she could be deported and her operator be subjected to temporary license capture by the local government until further dues are paid for (Feinman, 2010).
Another concept of law that is presented in the movie is how projects passed on for government approval take on different procedures for application and pursuance. Considerably, it could be understood that the overall motive of the Basser [the scientist who developed the project] was clear and definite in helping out the human population in resolving the issues of food scarcity (Feinman, 2010). However, there would always be another face of the society that wants something else out of such arrangements. The Prince of Saudi Arabia was one of the biggest supporters of the project; a reason for him to set aside huge amount of financial support for the project’s completion.
At some point, the creators of the assassin plot saw something else apart from the resolution that Basser offers, they saw the possibility of earning great amounts of money for themselves if they are able to take the project and have it work for themselves. It would mean a lifetime possibility of earning a lot from what they produce, it would be a source of relative control on their part as they tend to utilize the project, produce the corn variety and be the worldwide source of food support. With the people supporting the project gone in the way, the summit need not know what happened to the proposed resolution they would just realize that the situations change ones the plot of developing and utilizing the project is commenced by the opportunists. This aspect of the movie shows how the society works at present. With many opportunists existing in the society, there are many reasons why several resolutions are not being passed on to be able to help the needs of the less fortunate ones. While there are viable projects that could resolve issues at present, human greed usually wins the battle, and the law, becomes twisted if not blinded by the said opportunists.
Conclusion
Economy, politics and social chaos; these three elements define the overall theme of the movie. Considerably, Martin, the protagonist of the film was seen to have been caught in the process of redefining society’s course of living and how the tug of war between the ‘good’ and the ‘evil’ subjects of the government identify the fate of many people in the society. Considerably, this movie exposes the law’s incapacity when it comes to determining opportunists as basically, some of them belong to the government itself; giving them the capacity to manipulate the situations according to their own desires. With these occurrences specifically containing the situation in the government and the world scene, it could be expected that resolutions to worldwide problems might be halted over and over again for the sake of determining the benefits they may give to a lesser few in the government and in the society.
Reference:
Feinman, Jay (2010). Law 101. New York: Oxford University Press.
