I remember playing clue as a kid and being immersed into a world of “who dun it” with my friends. As a game would progress, I thought I had picked up on a hint that Colonel Mustard had left but later I was absolutely sure that Miss Peacock had been the killer. Eventually the game ended and I obviously have no idea who killed who after all of these years. One thing definitely stuck from this sort of idea, murder mysteries are fun to play and watch unfold in front of you.
Be it the allure of a classic retelling of The Murder on the Orient Express on the big screen or a comical spin on the genre in the movie so titled “Murder Mystery” on Netflix with Adam Sandler, there is something exhilarating in finding out who made such a ruthless decision when there are motives for all who surround the victim. In my opinion, the murder mystery genre seems to have gained momentum during the peak times of Sherlock Holmes and has popped up great stories throughout history. Sir Conan Arthur Doyle made it abundantly clear, through Holmes, that people enjoy the ending of a murder story in finding out who killed the victim. They also want the clear knowledge of what kind of motivation was needed to make a human do something so heinous.
Rian Johnson, known recently for his mixed reception of the Star Wars: The Last Jedi, takes us on a winding twisting journey to discover who is responsible for the murder in his latest movie Knives Out. After what some considered to be an outright betrayal of Star Wars lore in his chapter of the Skywalker Saga, Johnson turns in a movie that the public can uniformly enjoy. This movie explores the lives of the Thrombey family after the suspected suicide of their wealthy father Harlan (Christopher Plummer). Throughout a series of puzzle pieces in the form of flashbacks and detective work, we see a story unfold in a misleading tale over and over again about what led to the death of Harlan Thrombey.
Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) assists in the investigation of those surrounding Harlan near the time of his death. The list suspects, as usual, starts long and honestly stays long throughout the movie. Craig’s performance throughout the movie is good as a detective but his accent will drive you a little bit nuts. He portrays a private investigator with a southern accent and it does not work, at least for me. Throughout he is good in his role but…. COME ON! Daniel Craig is a star as James Bond and it is hard to take him out of that and put him into this. All in all, he gets the job done.
Another star actor in this film is Jamie Lee Curtis. She portrays Linda Drysdale, Harlan’s daughter. She is a self-believed self-made woman and simply wants what is owed to her and her family after the death of her idol, Harlan. Curtis does a great deal of work making herself into someone the viewer will hate, and it is well achieved. Curtis leaves a performance unlike anything I have seen from her before, however, I mostly remember her from my generations Freaky Friday movie #NoShame.
The last star I will mention is the largest of them all by my standards, Captain America himself, Chris Evans. Playing Ransom Drysdale, the rich playboy with a fancy sports car and grandson of Harlan, Evans finds himself in a role far removed from America’s ass. We see Evans as everyone’s least favorite character-type, the stuck-up rich boy. He is stretching muscles we haven’t seen from his acting skills since before his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is showing that he doesn’t have to only play as a hero.
Knives Out plays upon all that we hold to in a murder mystery film. Throughout, you will be thinking about the motives that one character has and 3 minutes later, you will discover a new clue that leads you to suspect another. Johnson does an exquisite job in constantly misdirecting the viewer all the way until the final moments. Playing on the most common motive, greed, we see just how corrupt wealth can make a person. Playing on comedic cues at just the right moments, we are reminded that this is a movie and not so entranced in the trail for the whole film. With quirky ideas and comments by our characters, we see that a serious movie doesn’t have to stay that way for its entirety. I’d love to summarize more, however, I don’t want to spoil anything for you.
Knives Out will take you on a wild, mind melting journey that you will not expect to occur. If you liked the sleight of hand in Rian Johnson’s previous movie Looper, you will be absolutely thrilled with this film.
Knives Out was released in theaters on November 27th 2019 and will be available to rent and purchase in February or March of 2020.
Knives Out 8/10
I would recommend Knives Out to anyone who enjoys the wonders of trying to figure out a story before you are told everything on screen.
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