Knives Out stars Daniel Craig as private investigator Benoit Blanc, who’s anonymously hired to investigate the suicide of wealthy crime novelist Harlan Thrombey, played by Christopher Plummer, after the night of his birthday party, as foul play is suspected. When Blanc and Detective Elliott, played by Lakeith Stanfield, question Thrombey’s family, they learn he alienated nearly all of them, leading Blanc to believe that everyone is a suspect. Aided by the family’s housekeeper Marta, played by Ana de Armas, Blanc begins to peel through the layers of family history to see what could have really happened to Thrombey.
It’s rare to see a murder mystery whodunit these days, despite the fact that it was an old genre favorite. Though this is actually not director Rian Johnson’s first foray into the genre, with his directorial debut, Brick, lifting many elements from hardboiled detective stories and whodunits. And just as he subverted the genre once before, he does so yet again with this film, and in doing so, gives a refreshing approach to the genre that will endlessly entertain audiences.
Without giving anything away, this is structurally different than the average whodunit, with much more information being given up front than expected. Though just because Johnson chooses to go down this route doesn’t mean there’s not much left to explore, as he still manages to fill the movie with twists and turns at every corner. There’s a sense of claustrophobia, with much of the film taking place inside the Thrombey mansion, and with Blanc asking all of the family to stick around, there’s a constant sense of tension due to the feeling of not being able to escape.
The film features a stacked cast, with big names such as Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, and Don Johnson, among others, appearing as Thrombey’s family members. Though what’s refreshing is, despite so much going on in terms of the actual mystery, there’s still plenty of time to flesh nearly all of these characters out and allow them to feel like relatable people in some way. Some are given a bit more to do than others, with Jaeden Martell as Harlan’s grandson, for example, being mainly there to just get a few jokes in.
But characters will often weave in and out in terms of relevance, with some never truly coming into play until later on in the film. And what’s nice is, at two hours and ten minutes, the film never feels bloated in terms of runtime or jarring in terms of shifting focus. The film is paced brilliantly, never really lingering on a particular sequence for longer than it needs to, and keeping the story moving along very nicely.
And it’s often quite funny too, and in a way, self-aware at times. Daniel Craig’s ridiculous Southern accent is going to be one of the most jarring aspects of the film for some, though it’s meant to be something of a parody of that character type from older films, with characters constantly cracking jokes about it. There are a lot of moments where characters are firing off insults to one another, or getting in a witty remark, and it almost never feels forced in, with a lot of the humor being dry and weaved into dialogue that feels relevant to the plot.
Despite so many big names in the film, the one major standout is Ana de Armas, who as Blanc’s unwitting assistant, gets one of the biggest arcs in the film, arguably more than any other character, despite being one of the film’s lesser known stars. Her character has a lot going on in her own life, and the effects of Harlan’s death are greatly felt on her as a result. She has a lot of interesting traits that get revealed over the course of the film that make her feel endlessly intriguing and one of the film’s most truly unique characters, and one of its brightest spots.
Knives Out is an excellent revival of the murder mystery genre, and one that shouldn’t be missed. Like with any other murder mystery, it’s one filled with endless twists and turns, and it never feels like it’s overstuffed or has too much going on. It’s filled with hilarious, quotable dialogue, a great energy, fleshed out characters, and fantastic performances that make it one of the year’s best moviegoing experiences.
Recommendation: Must-See
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