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| Courtesy of Lionsgate |
The plot revolves around the death of renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) whose body is found – in a pool of blood – at his mansion just after his 85th birthday celebration. The police initially rule it a suicide, but private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), enlisted to investigate by an unknown party, isn’t so sure.
He quickly realizes each of Thrombey’s awful relatives (including Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson and Toni Collette) has a motive, so he’ll have a tough time finding the truth. To assist in this difficult endeavor, he enlists the guidance of Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), the deceased’s friend and in-home nurse. Together, the two of them piece together the clues and try to figure out the answer.
From a narrative standpoint, Knives Out is everything whodunit fans are looking for. The suspects are interesting and despicable, especially Evans (relishing the chance to play Captain America’s moral opposite) and Collette (doing a wickedly hilarious take on Gwyneth Paltrow). Craig is fantastic as Southern-fried sleuth Blanc, eschewing the stoicism of 007 for the cartoonish antics of his character in the criminally underseen Logan Lucky. Plus, de Armas delivers a star-making performance as the film’s stealth main character.
The central mystery has plenty of twists and turns, with a satisfying answer that is both poignant and unexpectedly simple in hindsight. But what makes Johnson one of my favorite filmmakers is that he’s not just interested in tackling a lot of different genres. He also wants to deconstruct those genres to get to the root of what makes them so compelling, while also honoring their tropes and conventions.
With Brick, he made a throwback to classic noirs, but he set it in a contemporary high school to show how relatable those films still were in 2005. The Brothers Bloom was a con artist flick that simultaneously pulled a con on viewers. With Looper, he spun a time-travel yarn that was far more about morality and human nature than sci-fi trappings.
Of course, there’s also The Last Jedi of it all. His entry in the Star Wars saga generated a significant amount of controversy because, in addition to furthering the overall mythology, he also examined why the franchise has captivated audiences for more than 40 years.
Some fans weren’t happy with his narrative choices or the conclusions he arrived at, but I thought his questioning of long-held truths made for one of the saga’s greatest, most complex chapters. He broke Star Wars down, looked at the individual pieces and then put it back together again.
(And that’s without even mentioning that he also directed “Ozymandias” – not only the best episode of Breaking Bad, but also in contention for the greatest hour in the history of television. No exaggeration.)
Johnson applies the same filmmaking philosophy to Knives Out. Yes, it’s a great whodunit, but he also filters our modern social climate through the genre’s tropes. The result gives added depth to an already terrific story. It takes a talented writer with a perceptive directorial touch to comment on controversial issues like xenophobia, class warfare and other political third-rails without coming off as preachy or didactic, but Johnson makes it seem effortless.
Those elements are crucial to the mystery, yet he’s able to weave them into the narrative without stopping the film’s momentum to deliver a lecture. It helps that he’s got a cast of heavy hitters who knows what he’s going for and assists in crafting characters who can communicate those key themes in authentic, though somewhat exaggerated fashion.
In fact, Knives Out is so fun and engaging that 130 minutes flew by. I was genuinely surprised when the credits rolled because I didn’t realize how long I’d been sitting in the theater. A big part of that is Johnson knowing how to end on a high note; the film has one of the greatest final shots I’ve seen in a long time.
I rarely applaud in the theater (the people who made the movie can’t hear me, so who am I clapping for?), but I couldn’t help myself. If the trailer for Knives Out intrigued you or this review convinced you to give it a shot, do yourself a favor and avoid reading or watching anything else about it. Just head to the multiplex and buy a ticket. I can almost guarantee you won’t be disappointed. It’s one of the year’s best films.
Knives Out is rated PG-13 for thematic elements including brief violence, some strong language, sexual references and drug material.
Grade: A
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