Knives Out is a 2020 Whodunnit movie written and directed by Rian Johnson who has mostly became more known in the public limelight after directing the 2nd outing of Disney’s Star Wars trilogy, The Last Jedi, a movie despite having A LOT! of negative press i did actually think it wasn’t half bad. Now i saw this movie in the cinema the day it came out but it was before this blog existed, but i recently rewatched it a realised a review is much overdue so here we go.
For those who don’t know Johnson, he has also made a great little sci-fi movie named Looper if you haven’t seen it i highly recommend giving that a look it’s really really good, so with me only seeing two films in his quite small filmography one of which was great and the other just been okay, i didn’t really know how it was going to pan out, However Knives Out is not only by far the best of the 3 movies i have seen from Johnson it’s also one of the best i saw in 2019 and i saw a lot of movies in 2019. So for those who don’t know the plot of Knives Out follows the Thrombey family and family friends who are caught up in what seems like a real life game of Cluedo (Or Clue for my American readers) when the Father of the family, Harlon Thrombey is found dead following his 85th birthday. The police suspect suicide, but our ‘CSI-KFC’ private investigator, Benoit Blanc suspects foul play and has ruled out no suspects.
Now movies like this are difficult to make as you don’t want to make it too complex and convoluted that the audience hasn’t a clue what the hell is happening to the point they lose interest, this also allows the risk of having too much that the movie starts to fall apart and not make sense. However on the hand, if you make it too obvious, then when it’s revealed that So,so was the villain the whole time then the big twist feels more like a big letdown. Johnson however does not do either of these he also doesn’t strike the right balance between the two…No Johnson creates his own set of rules and tells a compelling and masterfully unique story that seems like it tells you everything, when in fact it’s actually telling you nothing, but the the ‘Nothing’ is actually distracting you from the ‘Everything’ i know that is confusing but that is the best way i can describe it without spoiling the movie, However once you watch the movie you will understand exactly what the ‘Everything’ and ‘Nothing’ is.
Honestly I am struggling to describe in words how clever this movie is. Everything has purpose , every single frame,line,and plot device is used perfectly to elevate this movie, no line is a throw away line there are some things that are said about certain characters that come up later on and are important, that most people (including myself) on the first watch will miss. And that’s another positive for this movie even on rewatches the movie is still as great as the first time, even though you know the twist and everything that is going to happen, the movie is choc-a- block filled with little details where i was like ‘Oh Shit! How did i miss that” and that’s just the tip of the iceberg on how genius this movie is.
Now moving away from the plot and story elements of this movie before I spoil something, we’ll move on to the acting. This cast is a superb ensemble from end to end and probably one of the best casts i’ve seen in an ensemble movie. We have greats such as Jaime Lee Curtis and Christopher Plummer and some underrated actors like Michael Shannon and Lakeith Stanfield and many new and upcoming faces that we are definitely going to see more of everyone here give one of the best performances of their careers and i cannot fault any single aspect of any of the casts performance. The stage stealers however are Chris Evans as the ‘Asshole’ of the family ‘Ransom’ and Daniel Craig and Ana De Armas as Detective Benoit Blanc and Marta Cabera respectively. Chris gives a performances that is the polar opposite of the superbly mannered,patriotic spandex wearing, shield wielding Captain America and it was hilariously and weirdly wholesome and entertaining to see someone who is usually portrayed as a all round good guy be such a in Ransom’s word “An Asshole”. Ana De Armas as well as being hands down the cutest woman in the world gives such a humble and feel good performance as our leading lady, and was an absolute delight to watch as she fumbled and finicked her way through the runtime with the utmost ‘Innocence’ Yes! I know Daniel Craig is a damn good James Bond, but here he gave a career high performance that is both hilarious and cheesy but also swanky and esteemed creating probably one of the best detective characters i have seen in a movie honestly, nuff said!
As mentioned above this movie review was massively overdue. I cannot stress enough how great this movie actually is and how much better it got on a re-watched. Which is a feat in itself but really a spectacular achievement when given it in the genre of a WhoDunnit? A movie genre that once it’s over there isn’t really much more meat to go picking bones at, Knives Out however only feels like an appetizer ( in the best way possible) on the first viewing but there is more than just a mouthful here.
Final Score.
Title: Masterpiece
Rian Johnson takes the Who Dunnit formula that usually has set rules and not a very long lifespan for replayability and somehow crafts his own unique genre that says everything, when in fact it’s actually telling you nothing, but the the ‘Nothing’ is actually distracting you from the ‘Everything and its absolute Genius.
Head Over Reels 