Knives Out review

KNIVES OUT:

RIAN JOHNSON’S WHODUNNIT IS A SUSPENSEFUL, FUNNY, AND VERY WELL-CRAFTED MYSTERY!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

LIONSGATE

Everyone is a suspect of the death of Harlan Thrombey in Knives Out

            A detective is mysteriously enlisted to investigate the murder of a renowned crime novelist in Knives Out, the new film written and directed by Rian Johnson (The Brothers Bloom, Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) and a modern take on the classic murder-mystery genre. There was a lot of hype for this movie when it was announced even after the release of everyone’s favorite Star Wars movie.

            For good reasons, you got an all-star cast in a smart, thrilling, but also very funny homage to murder-mystery films like Clue: The Movie or Murder on the Orient Express. Also, if you’re familiar with Rian Johnson’s work then you know he loves to play with expectations of different genres like his debut film Brick which pays tribute to film-noir in a high school setting, Looper explores the possibilities of time travel, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi plays around with fans’ expectations of a Star Wars movie with polarizing results. 

            His trademark directing style is present here in Knives Out where he gives new spins to murder-mystery movie tropes similar to what Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon did with The Cabin in the Woods in 2012 in a witty but clever way. The result: A thoroughly entertaining but also well-crafted mystery film that keeps you guessing while also making you laugh once in a while thanks to the appeal of its cast and some witty dialogue written by Johnson himself. 

            One day after his 85^th birthday, wealthy crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer-The Sound of Music, Beginners, All the Money in the World) suddenly dies presumably from suicide. Following his death Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig-James Bond franchise, Defiance, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)) is mysteriously called in to investigate the cause of his death and comes to the conclusion that…it may not have been suicide and that anyone whether extended family members or his staff could be a suspect. 

            Blanc rounds up Harlan’s family consisting of his grandson and spoiled playboy Ransom (Chris Evans-Scott Pilgrim VS The World, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Snowpiercer), his caretaker and nurse Marta (Ana de Armas-Knock Knock, War Dogs, Blade Runner 2049), eldest daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis-Halloween, A Fish Called Wanda, Freaky Friday (2003)), youngest son Walt (Michael Shannon-Premium Rush, Man of Steel, 12 Strong), son-in-law Richard (Don Johnson-Miami Vice, Nash Bridges, Django Unchained), daughter-in-law Joni (Toni Collette-The Sixth Sense, Little Miss Sunshine, Hereditary), granddaughter Meg (Katherine Langford-13 Reasons Why, Love, Simon, Cursed), housekeeper Fran (Edi Patterson-Black-ish, Vice Principals, We Bare Bears), and second daughter-in-law Donna (Riki Lindhome-House, The Big Bang Theory, The Lego Batman Movie) and tries to figure out who the culprit is and the reasoning behind Harlan’s death. The only problem is, it could be anyone or maybe even everyone.

            The film also stars Lakeith Stanfield (Short Term 12, Selma, Straight Outta Compton) as Detective Lieutenant Elliot, Noah Segan (Brick, Deadgirl, Looper) as Trooper Wagner, K Callan (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, How I Met Your Mother, Meet the Browns) as Great Nana, Frank Oz (The Muppets franchise, Star Warsfranchise, The Dark Crystal) as Alan Stevens, M. Emmet Walsh (Blood Simple, Blade Runner, The Iron Giant) as Mr. Proofroc, and Marlene Forte (Dallas, The Fosters, Marvel’s Runaways) as Marta’s mother. 

            Overall, Knives Out is a gleefully original take on the murder-mystery genre and another win for writer-director Rian Johnson, balancing suspense and terror with humor and actors chewing the scenery practically all throughout the film. All the actors are given their times to shine (including side characters) and you can tell everyone is having a ball with this movie particularly Daniel Craig, Toni Collette, Michael Shannon, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Chris Evans (whose character I can best describe as Bizarro Captain America), they’re all just hamming it up as this very selfish and unlikable family who barely acknowledge Harlan’s death and only care about what he leaves them in his will, imagine the murder-mystery equivalent of the main characters from Seinfeld or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, in a strange way you kind of root against them but at the same time they make you laugh and put you on edge as well. 

            Nevertheless, even with the slightly comedic tone you’re still getting an interesting mystery and at times some haunting imagery like a spider crawling across the head of a corpse. It just goes to show that a movie doesn’t always need to have blood and gore to be scary, sometimes all you need is suspense and a well-crafted mystery…that’s what we got with this movie. 

            It’s also very unique as a rare murder-mystery movie to be ENTIRELY original and not based on an existing property. This is Rian Johnson paying homage to these types of films which you can tell he’s a big fan of while still staying fresh and new with the story and its execution. 

            Knives Out is a murder-mystery film that’s smart, funny, and very well-crafted proving that there is still some life in this once dead genre. In fact, even after you know the mystery it’s worth revisiting to catch details you didn’t notice before, easily one of the best films in this type of genre period, grab your “Knife” out and see for yourself.