Rian Johnson has returned to his non-franchise directorial roots again with his newest “whodunnit,” Knives Out. Fresh off the tail of Star Wars Episode VIII, a film originally met with disappointment from Star Wars fans across the world, Johnson returns to his “Brick” roots as he explores the mystery genre yet again, but as always, with his own personal twist. Knives Out is the culmination of Rian Johnson’s entire career, providing us with the classic murder-mystery we’ve all been craving, all while not excluding the intensity of a thriller and the quick wit that has come to be a staple of Johnson’s writing.
Full of Hamilton quotes, one-liners, and a seemingly incessant monologue from Daniel Craig about whole donuts and donut holes and holes in donut holes that I could barely understand, not because of Craig’s rambling, but because of the audience’s laughter; Knives Out is the star-studded murder investigation of a generation.
Johnson’s attention to detail paired with an incredibly alluring soundtrack sets the mood for the entire film. This attention to detail paints the picture of wildly successful murder-mystery author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) and his life that “looks like it came right off of a Clue board” according to the Massachusetts State Trooper (Noah Segan). Johnson moves the pieces of the game board endlessly throughout the film, creating a narrative that ends better than any finale that Thrombey could write himself.
The film opens on Thrombey’s mansion and two guard dogs frolicking across the grounds before landing on a close-up of Thrombey’s coffee mug that reads “My House. My Rules. My Coffee.,” a foreshadowing of the battle for the inheritance that is set to ensue while reminding the audience that although the mansion may look like we’ve travelled into the past, this story is happening as we watch it unfold. The camera takes us on a trip through the maze of staircases and trap doors that dot Thrombey’s home before his maid finds him in his office with his throat slit and a knife still in his hand. This discovery comes after a celebration of Thrombey’s 85th birthday that the family tells detectives was full of love and happiness. Soon, this narrative changes as the family member’s greed and entitlement pins them against one another in a fight for the Thrombey inheritance.
The film never loses intensity during the 2 hour and 10 minute runtime, and keeps the audience at the edge of their seats as it pulls them into the middle of the investigation. Detectives are initially prepared to close the case as a suicide, until Private Investigator Benoit Blanc is anonymously hired to lend a hand. The quest to understand who hired Blanc becomes just as important a role in driving the plot of the film as the quest to find the murderer. Blanc enlists the help of Thrombey’s nurse and closest personal friend, Marta, throughout the investigation as she knows Thrombey better than any member of his family and has one very important and interesting quality in honesty: she literally cannot lie without throwing up.
Ana de Armas plays the perfect protagonist in Marta, the immigrant registered nurse that the entire family “loves” so much as she’s become a part of the family herself, even though they can’t remember what Latin American country she hails from; and they never fail to remind her they are aware of her mother’s status as an illegal immigrant.
Every single member of the family becomes a suspect as Blanc, who suspects foul play, breaks down each of their most recent encounters with Thrombey. As Blanc continues to gather evidence, everyone in the family seems to have a motive to murder Thrombey, especially after it is realized at the reading of his will that every member of the family has been frozen out of his multi-million dollar estate. Thriving on their entitlement and utter lack of realization of such, the family falls to pieces as they try to pass the blame for their patriarch’s loss of trust in the family.
The second half of the film is a labyrinth of understanding how each family member’s motive falls into line as the audience finally discovers who was responsible for Thrombey’s death, but, as Johnson has displayed through so many of his prior films, the solution is not as simple as it may seem.
Chris Evans comes to play the role of the wild card, Thrombey’s grandson Ransom, entering the film late in the game and being sure to shuffle the deck. Evans’s character is the black-sheep of the family, the grandson who skipped his grandfather’s funeral, but made it a point to be at the reading of the will. Evans is sure to drive the hilarity of the film through his smug defiance against his family and lack of “political correctness.” Evans’s one-liners and questioning rebellion strikes a match under the entire family, somehow shocked by his arrogance and carelessness for the dramatic situation at hand.
This film is as much a political commentary as it is Johnson’s attempt to employ all of the classic characteristics of an Agatha Christie-style mystery. Johnson makes it a point to exclude no one from this political commentary, berating the Nazi nephew, the snowflake niece, the cheating husband, the “self-made” business woman, the Trump supporter, the Instagram influencer, and the entitled millennial equally throughout the film.
As the investigation progresses, Johnson keeps the audience on their toes as there seems to be a lack of twists and turns, constantly changing the direction of the investigation and pulling the rug from both the audience and the characters. He makes sure to not show his cards in order to keep the audience guessing up until the very last scene.
Yet again, Johnson has successfully morphed a number of genres into one to create a murder-mystery that is as fun for the audience as it was so obviously fun for the cast. Earning a standing ovation at the September 7th TIFF world premiere, Knives Out is a top contender for the Grolsch People’s Choice Award and is sure to be making the rounds during this year’s awards circuit.
Knives Out will be released by Lionsgate November 27th, 2019.
Common Man's Critic 