My Review of Knives Out (2019)

 

Written And Directed by Rian Johnson 

Marta: "You're not much of a detective, are you?"

Benoit: "Well, to be fair, you make a pretty lousy murderer."

It's amazing that for a director, one franchise can make you a villain within it's fandom and the other can make you a hero of sorts. Star Wars fans might not have appreciated Rian Johnson but everyone else took to him.

Mainly because Johnson clearly revealed himself to be more suited to the murder mystery genre than anything involving the force. This movie in question could've been fine as a one and done murder mystery but instead it introduced audiences to a Columbo/Poirot for the 21st Century.

Excellently cast as Inspector Benoit Blanc, Daniel Craig bagged himself a role different to James Bond and equally as interesting to boot. For his first onscreen case, Blanc found himself amongst the wealthy and they're not a nice bunch to be around.

Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) was a mystery writer celebrating his 85th birthday with his children and grandchildren alike. He also was found the next morning dead by unfortunate housekeeper, Fran (Edi Patterson). This automatically put Harlan's family in the frame but also his nurse, Marta Cabrera (Ana De Amas).

With Marta, the movie really teased the possibility of her being the killer for the longest time. She had blood on her shoes,Blanc did suspect and it was revealed that she had inadvertently given Harlan a morphine dose that she shouldn't have. All of that alone would then rule her out, along with Harlan's grandson Hugo (Chris Evans) attempting to blackmail Marta. 

Harlan's children - Lynda (Jamie Lee Curtis), Walt (Michael Shannon), their spouses, Richard (Don Johnson), Donna (Riki Lindhome) and Joni (Toni Collette) along with their own children, Hugh, Meg (Katherine Langford) and Jacob (Jaeden Martell). What can I say? All strong actors all give great performances and mostly all of them are horrible people with little concern for Harlan's passing and more for his inheritance.

The killer reveal was actually done pretty well and even I was surprised by the culprit a little. As for the end with Marta, there's something delightful in that outcome, considering that she's one of the few people who seemed to care about Harlan. Basically, everyone somewhat got what they deserved here.

- Other standout performances included LaKeith Stanfield as Detective Lieutenant Elliott and K. Callan as Wanetta "Great Nana" Thrombey. The latter being Harlan's mother.

- Daniel Craig and Ana De Amas would later reunite for No Time To Die. 

- Standout music: Roxy Music's More Than This, The Rolling Stones Sweet Virginia and Follies by Stephen Sondheim – Daniel Craig's Losing My Mind.

- Chronology: The film was made in Boston and Maynard, Massachusetts.

Knives Out served as the perfect revival for the murder mystery genre in a time where Agatha Christie adaptations have fared less well on both the small and big screen. The story was great, the cast were chosen wisely and Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc has cemented himself as one of the best modern detectives.

Rating: 8 out of 10