When a renowned crime novelist is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, an inquisitive and debonair detective is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From the novelist’s dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, the detective sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind the untimely death. A film by Rian Johnson, starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, and Jaeden Martell.
Knives Out
Rian Johnson
(2019)
The story takes place on the night of Harlan Thrombey’s 85th birthday. Harlan (Christopher Plummer) is a legendary best-selling mystery novelist. The next morning, his housekeeper discovers him dead in his room. The police initially conclude it was suicide based on the condition of his body, which had a slash wound across his throat.
Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is a detective hired by a mysterious person who sent him a letter along with a large sum of money, asking him to investigate whether Harlan’s death wasn’t actually a suicide but a murder.
After Benoit interrogates everyone who was present the night of the incident, including Harlan’s children, grandchildren, and extended family such as Ransom Ransom (Chris Evans), Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis), Walt (Michael Shannon), Richard (Don Johnson), Joni (Toni Collette), Meg (Katherine Langford), Jacob (Jaeden Martell), Donna (Riki Lindhome), he discovers that every single one of them had a motive to kill Harlan.
The situation intensifies when the lawyer reads Harlan’s will in front of the entire family and reveals that Harlan had decided to change his will to leave his entire fortune to Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), Harlan’s personal nurse who has no blood relation to the family whatsoever.
Written and directed by American filmmaker Rian Johnson, one of my favorite directors, Knives Out is an exceptional whodunit style mystery film. Johnson crafts an original story that makes the audience feel like they know who the culprit is, yet still maintains a constant sense of doubt about whether their suspicions are correct and what the true motive really is. The director manages to create plot twists that exceed expectations and take things to another level.
The entire cast is excellent, inhabiting their roles wonderfully. Ana de Armas, who plays the lead, is particularly outstanding as the central figure of the story. This is a phenomenal film that shouldn’t be missed under any circumstances, especially for fans of whodunit murder mysteries and admirers of the director.
I honestly can’t find anything to criticize. It’s so much more entertaining than MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. They’re not even in the same league.
Knives Out premiered at Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2019. The film was theatrically released in the United States on 27 November 27.
