Knives Out Review: a loveable who done it murder, mystery movie…

Writer/director Rian Johnson career has been on the up since his first delicious low-budget debut feature, Brick (2005), transposed a dark, 1940s noir narrative to the sunny environs of a modern California high school, with attention-grabbing results.

In 2012’s Looper, he churned out a time-travel adventure set within an alternative future with the consequences of solving problems through violence.

More recently, his 2017 Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi, outraged some hardcore #StarWars fans who didn’t think the series’ ever-evolving mythology should be up for discussion.

Ouch.

And now comes along, Knives Out, a perfect film regarding death, family, revenge, and of course, money and power, for an ever-advancing director intent on conquering the world. In the deliciously entertaining Knives Out, Johnson (Culturedemandsgeeks suspects) goes back to his roots with an updated homage to the Agatha Christie whodunnits he loved as a child.

The setting is a gothic mansion in modern-day New England where crime-writer Harlan Thrombey, the legend (Christopher Plummer) has recently capped his 85th birthday celebrations by dying dramatically in his attic study. It looks like an open-and-shut suicide, but could one of Harlan’s leechy family members (witheringly described as a bunch of “self-made over-achievers”) have slit his throat?

After all, the old man spent the evening settling old scores and “cleaning house”…

THE SUSPECTS:

Perhaps black-sheep Ransom (Chris Evans, oozing privilege) did it – he was heard arguing with his grandfather that night.

Or what about the ever-so-slightly sniveling son, Walt (Michael Shannon, playing against type), whose publishing fortune depended on his father’s faltering favor?

Then there’s son-in-law Richard (Don Johnson), a ladies man with a wandering eye; and widowed lifestyle guru Joni (Toni Collette, channeling an outsider constantly struggling for the family’s approval and bringing up her daughter, played by the perfect-fitting, Katherine Langford).

As for eldest daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis in a career-best form), she can’t help “thinking about Dad’s games” and “Waiting for the big reveal…”

Only Harlan’s nurse and carer Marta (Ana de Armas) appears above suspicion, blessed with a “regurgitative reaction to mistruths” that makes her vomit when lying. It’s a star-making role for the Chilean De Armas, who somehow shines even brighter than all the glittering Hollywood talent surrounding her.

And in steps, famed detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) unexpectedly arrives to help investigate what initially doesn’t seem like a murder at all. (But it was), and almost every one of Harlan’s extended brood had a believable motivation for offing him. Craig’s demeanor of a somewhat experienced investigator is allured to the house by a simple note, to investigate Harlan Thrombey’s murder/suicide. He plays the character cool, sometimes bordering on ‘he hasn’t a clue’ and with a fine Texan accent to boot.

Indeed, all the actors are clearly having the time of their lives, especially Chris Evans, former Captain America, who demonstrates a heretofore underexploited gift for jerkiness.

Nobody in the expansive ensemble lets the side down, even the offices of the law, played by the excellent Noah Segan and LaKeith Stanfield who are investigating the case.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

As with the very best whodunnits, everything is set up and sneakily signalled in the opening moments of the drama, but it’s only on second viewing that those early clues become evident.

There’s a real pleasure to be had watching Johnson wind the coiled springs of his steel-trap plot, yet none of it would bite if we didn’t care about the characters, who remain just on the right side of us caring for these rich assholes.

You don’t need to be a fan of the classic 1970s/Agatha Christie-style whodunnit to enjoy Knives Out, but if you are, you’ll get a particular kick out of it. This was clearly made by a devotee of the form.

5/5 STARS