It took me a little while but I had a chance to see “Knives Out” last night and it ended up being one of the most enjoyable theater experiences of the year. It is also the type of movie that we need more of in a time when it seems that sequels, reboots, and remakes are all the rage.
The plot follows the death of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), the patriarch of the Thrombey family and a hugely successful and wealthy mystery writer, the night of his 85th birthday party. The death is ruled a suicide however as Harlan was found with the murder weapon in his hand, indicating that he ultimately slit his own throat. The film opens with a pair of detectives (LaKeith Stanfield and Noah Segan) investigating the children and other family member of Harlan just to cover their bases. The pair are joined by private investigator extraordinaire Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) , hired by one interested party to do his own independent investigation into the death.
The film plays as a whodunit and it is clear that writer/direct Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Looper, Brick) seems to be having a blast keeping the viewer guessing as to just what happened to Harlan. The opening fifteen minutes of the film are very effective in setting up all of the vital characters to the story and giving each one of Harlan’s rotten children possible motivation as to why they could have something to do with it.
The cast are all on the top of their games and is loaded with top tier talent (Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Jaime Lee Curtis) but the real stand outs were Chris Evans as Ransom, the grandson of Harlan, and Daniel Craig as Detective Blanc. It was fun to see Evans play an entitled trust fund jerk. Daniel Craig is the star of the movie though as Detective Blanc as he produces an instantly memorable character. He is really going for it with the southern drawl and it is a similar performance to the one he gives in Logan Lucky.
The film mostly takes place inside the estate and on the surrounding grounds of Harlan’s mansion which puts the characters into tight spaces with one another to bump the tension. While the plot becomes a little more complicated as the mystery unfolds the movie never gets overly complex. Johnson leaves enough clues to keep the viewer guessing and while there are a fair amount of “talky” stretches in the movie the dialogue is written in such a way that is engaging and entertaining. Flashbacks are also inter-cut at points throughout showing where all the main players were the night of Harlan’s birthday party. These also never feel out of place and help viewers keep track of where the chest pieces are. Some characters do eventually get less screen time and less import as it goes but with a cast this large that is probably bound to happen. Some of the political and social commentary didn’t really work all that well for me but was only a minor quibble.
Ultimately, you should definitely check this movie out. It is a highly entertaining two hours and the last fifteen minutes deliver a satisfying payoff to the mystery. There have been rumors that Rian Johnson would be directing his own trilogy of Star Wars movies but I think I would rather have him stay in this space of original workings.
Rating 8.5/10
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