Get A Clue - Knives Out (REVIEW)
written by Justin Prince (@prince_justin)
A mystery… a questionable death… a house full of prime suspects… and a sizable inheritance. Knives Out takes the classic “who done it?” and offers up a compelling mystery that pays homage to old school cinema while also offering something modern. Directed by Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) and starring a sizable cast full of talent, Knives Out collects Daniel Craig (Skyfall), Chris Evans (Avengers: Endgame), Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049), Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween), Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water), Don Johnson (Miami Vice), Toni Collette (Hereditary), LaKeith Stanfield (Sorry to Bother You), Christopher Plummer (A Beautiful Mind), Katherine Langford (Love, Simon), Jaeden Martell (It), and Riki Lindhome (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend).
When wealthy novelist Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) commits suicide on the eve of his 85th birthday, his dysfunctional and combative family is left behind as the prime suspects in a death that has sparked the interest of notable private detective Benoit Blanc (Craig). Everyone is a suspect here, from Harlan’s children Linda (Curtis) and Walt (Shannon), their respective spouses Richard (Johnson) and Donna (Lindhome), daughter-in-law Joni (Collette), grandchildren Ransom (Evans), Meg (Langford), and Jacob (Martell)… even Harlan’s personal nurse Marta (de Armas) is considered a suspect. Benoit Blanc believes that one of these individuals knows the truth and he intends to find out that truth with practically everyone gaining some benefit from Harlan’s death.
The mystery is thick here, and honestly I walked into it thinking I could figure it out. I love a good mystery. While the clues were laid out and obvious by the time the big reveal happened, it was so well hidden I was truly surprised by the final outcome. Knives Out is an expertly crafted mystery with an underlying layer of comedy to it. While combative and dysfunctional families are not new to cinema, Wes Anderson loves a comedically dysfunctional family… Knives Out feels like if The Royal Tenenbaums was told with an underlying murder mystery. While not as eccentric as a the Tenenbaums, the Thrombeys are eccentric in a very vitriolic way. Despite many of them seemingly speaking highly of the family patriarch, these warm memories feel to be laced with venom.
What sets Knives Out apart from other murder mystery stories is the circumstance of the mystery, I won’t spoil it for you but it handles it in such a refreshing way you find yourself letting down your guard a little by the middle of the film… only to hit a steep drop near the end. Knives Out feels like a murder mystery that borrows its narrative beats from an action movie. But instead of high pressure shootouts or Michael Bay-esque explosions, we got venomous exchanges between family and cases of overt conservative racism along with the special liberal brand of racism “woke” white folks like to use.
What was an absolute treat in Knives Out were the performances. Everyone was on point, especially Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc. He drove the narrative and played a savvy detective that felt like a mix between Sherlock Holmes and Colonel Sanders. His Southern drawl was so perfect, I forgot that he was British at points. Much of the story revolves around Harland’s nurse Marta, played by the absolutely stunning Ana de Armas, who ends up being the outsider surrounded by the Thrombey wolves. As far as the family is concerned, Chris Evans stands out as Harlan’s eldest grandson Ransom Drysdale. Ransom is a spoiled prick, a grown man who never worked a day in his life and relies on the money afforded by his family name to get by. As shitty of a person Ransom was, he was oddly charming in a dickbag sort of way. The way he acted around the family was pure hilarity, and the “eat shit” scene was hands down my favorite vitriolic moment between Ransom and the rest of the Thrombey family.
At the end of the day, Knives Out was a rollercoaster of a ride. A “who done it?” that takes the formula, spins it on its head, and gives us a film that is exciting, infuriating, hilarious, and also has a lot of heart. When the last scene with the balcony comes, you feel a sense of accomplishment. Knives Out was one of my favorite movies this year, a damn near perfect mystery with a surprisingly simple solution.
A+
A sharp as hell ”who done it?” with comedic edge
