The Numbers Station: Difference between revisions
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Kent then applies pressure to Katherine's wound to stanch the bleeding, and she passes on to him the final code needed to cancel the broadcast, then tells him to go. Kent leaves to finish cancelling the broadcast, as Katherine holds on. When he returns, she asks him if she's going to die. As Kent injects her with anaesthetic to relieve her pain, Katherine asks him if she's going to wake up. Kent says that he saw four men get shot in the gut, and each one of them lived. She asks him if he would ever have killed her, and he replies "no". Katherine appears to succumb to her wound and die. Kent calls Grey and informs him that everything is secure. When Grey asks about Katherine, Kent replies, "all assets are retired". After Kent hangs up, he fills a bag with C4 explosive and tapes a detonator to a block of C4. He places C4 all around the station and sets the detonator for 20.5 minutes. |
Kent then applies pressure to Katherine's wound to stanch the bleeding, and she passes on to him the final code needed to cancel the broadcast, then tells him to go. Kent leaves to finish cancelling the broadcast, as Katherine holds on. When he returns, she asks him if she's going to die. As Kent injects her with anaesthetic to relieve her pain, Katherine asks him if she's going to wake up. Kent says that he saw four men get shot in the gut, and each one of them lived. She asks him if he would ever have killed her, and he replies "no". Katherine appears to succumb to her wound and die. Kent calls Grey and informs him that everything is secure. When Grey asks about Katherine, Kent replies, "all assets are retired". After Kent hangs up, he fills a bag with C4 explosive and tapes a detonator to a block of C4. He places C4 all around the station and sets the detonator for 20.5 minutes. |
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Kent removes all of Katherine's jewelry and throws it on the floor. He wraps her in a blanket and takes her to a car outside. When the car doesn't start, Kent carries Katherine away from the station and the building explodes behind them. Kent hijacks a car, and when the driver repeats something Kent remembered the operator telling him -- " |
Kent removes all of Katherine's jewelry and throws it on the floor. He wraps her in a blanket and takes her to a car outside. When the car doesn't start, Kent carries Katherine away from the station and the building explodes behind them. Kent hijacks a car, and when the driver repeats something Kent remembered the operator telling him -- "You understand that, you're not a fool" -- Kent realizes that the driver is the operator. When Kent asks him who he works for, the operator replies that he used to work for the same people that Kent does, but he now works for the other side, and that they are just as twisted, but they pay a lot more. He describes how their bosses expect them to be killers, how they complain when they can't function in that life any more, and how their employers kill them, when they quit because of the things they are forced to learn. |
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When the operator asks Kent if he stopped the broadcast, Kent says, "yeah". The operator pulls out a gun and they both shoot each other. Kent gets up, revealing that he was hit in the shoulder, and shoots the operator again. Kent drives away, but starts to become drowsy from shock, and he crashes the car. |
When the operator asks Kent if he stopped the broadcast, Kent says, "yeah". The operator pulls out a gun and they both shoot each other. Kent gets up, revealing that he was hit in the shoulder, and shoots the operator again. Kent drives away, but starts to become drowsy from shock, and he crashes the car. |
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Revision as of 17:24, 27 December 2013
| The Numbers Station | |
|---|---|
 Pre-release cinema poster | |
| Directed by | Kasper Barfoed |
| Screenplay by | F. Scott Frazier |
| Produced by | Sean Furst Bryan Furst Nigel Thomas |
| Starring | John Cusack Malin Åkerman Liam Cunningham Richard Brake Bryan Dick Lucy Griffiths Joey Ansah Hannah Murray |
| Cinematography | Óttar Guðnason |
| Edited by | Chris Gill Per Sandholt |
| Music by | Paul Leonard-Morgan |
Production companies | Furst Films Matador Films |
| Distributed by | Image Entertainment (US) |
Release dates |
|
| Countries | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
The Numbers Station is a 2013 British-American action thriller film, starring John Cusack and Malin Åkerman, about a burned-out CIA black ops agent assigned to protect the code operator at a secret American numbers station somewhere in the British countryside.[1]
The film was directed by Danish director Kasper Barfoed (four episodes of Those Who Kill, The Candidate, The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar), and the camera work was by Icelandic cinematographer Óttar Guðnason (Love, Wedding, Marriage, Inhale, A Little Trip to Heaven). It was produced by brothers Sean and Bryan Furst of American Furst Films (Daybreakers, The Girl in the Park, The Matador) and Nigel Thomas at British production and film finance company Matador Pictures (Princess Ka'iulani, Dread, Book of Blood).[2]
Portions of the film were shot at RAF Bentwaters, a former RAF and USAF Air Force base north-east of Ipswich in Suffolk, which was closed down in 1993. It is now known as Bentwaters Parks and has been turned into a film studio.[3]
Plot
As a CIA operative, Emerson Kent (John Cusack) is sent to kill a man who owns a bar. Before being killed by Kent, he reveals he is a former agent who wanted to retire from the espionage business. When Kent kills him and some bodyguards, a witness flees the scene, accidentally leaving his wallet behind. Kent finds the wallet and tracks the witness to his home, where he kills him. Kent is seen by a woman (implied to be the man's daughter), and after contemplating killing her, he decides to spare her life. As he leaves, he is followed by the woman, who is then shot by Kent's boss Michael Grey (Liam Cunningham). As Kent tries to convince Grey not to kill her, Grey strikes Kent on the back and he falls to the ground. As Kent and the woman share a last look at each other, Grey kills her.
Kent is then transferred to Suffolk, England to watch over a numbers station. While there, he befriends Katherine (Malin Åkerman). Two months pass, and Kent spends his nights drinking and thinking about the woman who was killed. On a particular Monday morning, the numbers station comes under attack by armed men. With no way out, Kent and Katherine barricade themselves inside. One assassin is already inside the secure station and, after a lengthy shootout, is killed by Kent.
As Kent requests assistance, the operator tells him that it will be four hours until help arrives, and that since the code has been compromised, he must kill Katherine. Kent notices that Katherine has a serious leg wound. He takes her to the medical room and dresses her wound, and she passes out shortly afterwards.
Kent receives a second call from the operator, informing him that help will arrive in two hours. The operator inquires whether he has taken care of Katherine yet. Kent says he cannot confirm that, and the operator orders him to do so immediately. Kent contemplates killing Katherine. He pictures shooting her in the back, but that is shown to be merely his visualisation. Kent and Katherine discover that 15 unauthorized messages were sent from their numbers station, where the assignments could be anything from assassinations to bombings.
Kent and Katherine discover a computer with dossiers of 15 different government officials, including Grey. The unauthorized codes are instructions to assassinate the 15 people, and Katherine is to be eliminated so she can't cancel the broadcasts. Kent remarks that the 15 executions, if carried out, would drastically cripple the intelligence system: " ...you won't recognise the world when you wake up in the morning." Kent and Katherine then talk about what they know of each other, and Kent tells Katherine that he used to be on the receiving end of the numbers. Katherine asks Kent if he ever thought about extricating himself from the life that he's embroiled in. Kent tells her that he once knew a man who put money aside and got out of the life. The agent opened up a bar (it is revealed that he is the bartender in the opening of the film) and lived for 37 months before he was taken out.
Kent then tricks the telephone operator by giving him a false confirmation code. When the operator answers the phone, Kent discovers that the operator works for the other side. Kent has Katherine lock herself in a room and orders her not to come out. Kent then tells the operator that he has killed Katherine, and goes to a car outside where she has left her phone. Meanwhile, Katherine figures out the information needed to cancel the broadcasts. She leaves the room to access the computer in order to cancel the broadcast, and an assassin slips through the door that Kent left open while searching for the phone. As the assassin moves to kill Katherine, she sees him coming and attempts to hide. The assassin shoots Katherine once in the stomach, Kent arrives and they spar hand-to-hand. As the assailant strangles him from behind, Kent reaches a gun and shoots the man several times, killing him.
Kent then applies pressure to Katherine's wound to stanch the bleeding, and she passes on to him the final code needed to cancel the broadcast, then tells him to go. Kent leaves to finish cancelling the broadcast, as Katherine holds on. When he returns, she asks him if she's going to die. As Kent injects her with anaesthetic to relieve her pain, Katherine asks him if she's going to wake up. Kent says that he saw four men get shot in the gut, and each one of them lived. She asks him if he would ever have killed her, and he replies "no". Katherine appears to succumb to her wound and die. Kent calls Grey and informs him that everything is secure. When Grey asks about Katherine, Kent replies, "all assets are retired". After Kent hangs up, he fills a bag with C4 explosive and tapes a detonator to a block of C4. He places C4 all around the station and sets the detonator for 20.5 minutes.
Kent removes all of Katherine's jewelry and throws it on the floor. He wraps her in a blanket and takes her to a car outside. When the car doesn't start, Kent carries Katherine away from the station and the building explodes behind them. Kent hijacks a car, and when the driver repeats something Kent remembered the operator telling him -- "You understand that, you're not a fool" -- Kent realizes that the driver is the operator. When Kent asks him who he works for, the operator replies that he used to work for the same people that Kent does, but he now works for the other side, and that they are just as twisted, but they pay a lot more. He describes how their bosses expect them to be killers, how they complain when they can't function in that life any more, and how their employers kill them, when they quit because of the things they are forced to learn.
When the operator asks Kent if he stopped the broadcast, Kent says, "yeah". The operator pulls out a gun and they both shoot each other. Kent gets up, revealing that he was hit in the shoulder, and shoots the operator again. Kent drives away, but starts to become drowsy from shock, and he crashes the car.
He wakes up in the hospital and discovers that Katherine is alive. Kent walks over to Katherine's room and, as he sits down, Grey steps in. Kent informs him he wants to walk away alive, with Katherine, but Grey says that she is a liability and wants her killed. Kent responds that Katherine is who stopped the broadcast and saved Grey's life. When Grey asks Kent what he wants, he says he wants ten days before they come after them. Grey wants to know if he will find Kent and Katherine's bodies at the station, and Kent tells him he will find enough to sell the concept of their deaths. Grey agrees and, as he is leaving, he tells Kent that "we were never here". As Emerson sits down by Katherine's bed, she opens her eyes and they both stare at each other.
As the end credits roll, cars are shown passing over the Orwell Bridge in Ipswich at night, implying that Kent and Katherine escaped.
Cast
- John Cusack as Emerson Kent, a disgraced CIA black ops agent who is assigned to watch over a numbers station in England.
- Malin Åkerman as Katherine, a code operator at the England numbers station.
- Liam Cunningham as Michael Grey, Emerson's boss.
- Lucy Griffiths as Meredith
- Richard Brake as Max
- Joey Ansah as Derne
- Hannah Murray as Rachel Davis, a young girl.
Release
The Numbers Station is scheduled for release in Denmark on 18 April 2013, in the United States on 26 April 2013, and in Iceland on 3 May 2013.[4] The movie has been pre-released in early April 2013 on Apple's iTunes video store and video streaming service Netflix.
Reception
The Numbers Station has received mostly negative reviews from critics. It currently holds a 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. One of the movie's most positive reviews came from Chuck Wilson of Village Voice who noted "there are some decent shootouts, but the movie's strongest assets are the soulful performances from John Cusack and Malin Akerman".[5] Another positive review came from Lou Lumenick of The New York Post who rated the film three out of four stars and stated "Kasper Barfoed, a Danish director in his English-language debut, makes great use of the main location, a bunker on a former airbase in the UK, as well as a novel premise. With Cusack’s help, Barfoed holds your interest without resorting to car chases, a rarity in a contemporary thriller."[6]
References
- ^ Matador Pictures: The Numbers Station Retrieved 2013-02-28
- ^ IMDb: The Numbers Station Retrieved 2013-02-28
- ^ IMDb: Filming locations for The Numbers Station Retrieved 2013-02-28
- ^ IMDb: Release dates for The Numbers Station Retrieved 2013-02-28
- ^ Wilson, Chuck (26 April 2013). "'The Numbers Station Draws Soulful Performances from John Cusack and Malin Akerman'". Village Voice. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ^ Lumenick, Lou (26 April 2013). "'The Numbers Station' review". The New York Post. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
External links
- The Numbers Station at IMDb
- Matador Pictures: The Numbers Station Retrieved 2013-02-28
- Reelz, 22 February 2013: Stranger Than Fiction: The Airwaves Are Filled with Coded Spy Messages Retrieved 2013-02-28