The murder-mystery genre may be way past its expiration date, fading away with the likes of Agatha Christie and mystery authors galore, but thankfully Rian Johnson is here to reinvent the genre and revitalize it for our current day. Knives Out is a spectacularly fun and relevant mystery film that will keep you on the edge of your seat for its entirety. With its razor-sharp dialogue and satirically hilarious performances, it is impossible to not at least have fun with this. While this movie is rife with political topics and pop culture references, Johnson does an outstanding job of balancing its painfully authentic reality with what the story needs in order to stand alone as a fantastic mystery tale. Even though I had some minor issues with its pacing and style, Knives Out proves its effectiveness as a guessing game, making its audience constantly reevaluate what they think to be true. About halfway through this film, you might be able to figure out who did it but I can guarantee that this film will keep you guessing as to why until its very end.
Upon the untimely and apparent suicide of wealthy mystery author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), his entire family reconvenes for his funeral and will reading and once again clash as families do. Among the invited is renowned Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), who is hired to investigate whether it was actually a suicide or if there was any suspected foul play. Evaluating possible motives and sorting out family drama amongst the hostile Thrombey clan proves to be one of the biggest challenges, as the investigation is on to find out who's responsible. Knives Out is the best whodunnit made in years and its incredibly entertaining, airtight script only solidifies that. This is definitely one of the best experiences I have had seeing a movie this year, as the perfect balance of mystery and sheer hilarity from Johnson was amazing. There's no better way to bring this genre into the 21st-century than with plenty of pop culture references and relevant family and political themes. There is a surprising amount of political material throughout this film that was done insanely well; it does not entirely take a stand on either side but mostly exists to ground this story in reality. Johnson is not afraid to remind his audience that crazy people exist on either side of the aisle and his inclusion of these elements was very refreshing. Along with how unnervingly passionate people can get about politics, Johnson makes sure to show how delusional the modern American family can be. He does such a great job of making this family appear realistic by grounding their individual beliefs and personalities with such care. It is so clever to focus on how dangerous people, even your own family, can be in the face of financial inheritance and wealth, despite their masks of love and acceptance. All everyone wants in this story is money and the theme of greed rears its ugly head in the smartest ways. This film is so effective as a mystery as well, tricking you into believing one thing and then completely twisting you in the other direction. Whether you are looking for just a fun time or a deeper meaning, this movie has enough to satisfy fans of any genre.
Knives Out has an absolutely enormous cast of characters and they are what make this film so grand, as each role was chosen and performed masterfully. Each member of the Thrombey family was so unique and well-developed in their own, original ways and the performances from everyone were magnificent. I love how this whole cast embodies a different, almost archetypal type of character, from the self-made woman Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) to the hip and very online aunt Joni (Toni Collette). From the playboy, bad boy Ransom (Chris Evans) to the alt-right, incel Jacob (Jaeden Martell), every character in this film is someone we have experienced before in real life, which makes this family as a whole so painfully believable. The very energetic, fast-paced dialogue from this whole cast is what keeps this film moving and what I love most is that the words these characters speak are much more than what you would expect from their respective archetypes. They all had their reasons for why they wanted their grandfather Harlan dead, which makes the many subplots and differing storylines so engaging. Through these characters, we also get so many comedic, memorable punchlines: everything related to today's popular culture, from Baby Driver to hitting a Juul. Out of the whole cast, however, the performance that I loved the most was the unexpected Ana de Armas. I was not quite sure how she fit into the family at first and I was definitely not expecting her to be this film's lead but she takes control of this story in the most captivating ways. Simultaneously naive and powerful, her role as Marta (Harlan's personal nurse and best friend) was such an amazing focal point for this narrative and de Armas is clearly able to handle her own. Her performance is absolutely stellar and while on one hand, she had the most emotional role of the whole cast, she is also able to handle the many layers of her character with such genuineness and elegance.
The only issues that I had with this film were its overall style and pacing. The direction and script from Johnson were incredible and keeps you paying attention to every minor detail, but this film is not nearly as stylish as I was led to believe. From its trailers, it seemed like Steve Yedlin's cinematography and Bob Ducsay's editing would only enhance the overall entertainment aspect, akin to what Game Night did for studio comedies last year, but the technical elements of this movie did not work too well for me. There was nothing wrong with the creative choices that were made, but I think that more could have been done to make this a visually more exciting film. It was interesting to set up this story through testimonials and flashbacks, but I felt like the pacing of many scenes also hurt the narrative. I started to lose focus a lot when these scenes went on for too long and I think that better pacing of the story would have kept me on my toes a bit more. The production design though? *chef's kiss*
Rian Johnson is such a versatile filmmaker and Knives Out is his shining example. This murder-mystery is unadulterated fun and surprisingly one of the most hilarious films of this entire year. With an unbelievably creative, tight script and a cast who seems to be having as much of a blast as I did, Johnson has clearly made one of the most original and exciting films of 2019. Trust no one, be suspicious of everyone, and never underestimate the cruelty of your own family.
My Rating: ★★★★½
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