A detective and a trooper journey to a lush estate to interview the quirky relatives of a patriarch who died during his 85th birthday celebration.
I have to give director Rian Johnson kudos for delivering a fun-filled whodunnit in “Knives Out.” You see, as the director of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” he made, in my opinion, THE absolute worst Star Wars movie to date, eclipsing “The Phantom Menace” and making it look like “The Godfather.” Seriously, I never thought it would be possible for another Star Wars movie to overshadow TPM in terms of overall disastrous narrative and even worse filmmaking techniques but I digress, a little, because “Knives Out” is a return to form for Mr. Johnson who delivered top-notch films earlier in his career such as “Looper”, “Brick,” and “The Brothers Bloom.”
“Knives Out” conveys an aura reminiscent of noir movies from the ’40s, all we’re missing is a Humphrey Bogart-esque voice-over but in all fairness, while at times I felt the film might have benefitted from one, in the end, director Rian Johnson and his superb cast make every facet of the movie work. Because there are twists galore throughout the film’s 130-minute runtime, including the big reveal at the end, this will be a spoiler-free review.
After inviting his extended family to stay the night with him at his sprawling remote mansion for his 85th Birthday, wealthy crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead the next morning in his study by his housekeeper. Because of his notoriety, the police are quickly called in to investigate, along with accomplished private eye Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). Initially ruled a suicide, as Blanc carefully analyzes the house, as well as the family, after Harlan’s funeral a few days later, for any kind of evidence, he asks them all to stay, which arouses their suspicion and eventually compels him to tell them that he believes Harlan might have met his demise as a result of foul play. With so many family members filled with ample motive, Blanc will have his work cut out for him as he advances with a case that will test him to his very limits and force him to re-examine his own methods if he is to ascertain what really happened to Harlan Thrombey.
The film is very clever as it forces you to think outside your own box in order to determine exactly what is going on and just when you think you have it all figured out, the story changes perspective and throws everything off balance. Each family member, we learn, was in the process of being removed from Harlan’s estate and will because he discovered nasty little secrets about each of them and confronted them individually about their deceitfulness, proving what he always knew, that they were only ever interested in his money, ergo, immeasurable motive. At the reading of Harlan’s last will and testament, things do not go according to plan and when Harlan’s sole beneficiary is named, the family erupts in chaos, and even Blanc, who is at a loss for words, is totally surprised by the outcome but it changes the game and forces him to rethink everything he thought he knew as he must now start over once more.
Daniel Craig is one of my favorite Bond actors but when we are first introduced to him here, his Southern drawl is extraordinarily overpowering as we are used to hearing to him speak in his native English accent but as the film progresses, it actually tapers off and you get so caught up in the movie itself, by the halfway mark, you have forgotten about his accent as he meticulously takes over the role of Benoit Blanc. Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Christopher Plummer, and Ana de Armas all play wonderfully off each other and no matter how hard you try to figure things out, more than likely, you won’t be disposed to the finale until it reveals itself, which is nothing short of miraculous because even though the clues are interspersed throughout the film, you will be too busy having too much fun watching a first-rate cast and masterful director hard at work.
Now available on Digital HD and on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital),
Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, and On-Demand Feb. 25th
