Knives Out Movie Review

Knives Out is an enthralling and compelling ride, a mystery/comedy. In a classic Agatha Christie type of whodunit story with twist and turns, closing with one of the best final shot endings. Rian Johnson's story writing entices the audience to try to make sense of the circumstances of Harlan's death in the story. Was it a suicide or murder? Conversely, shedding light on a social and political aspect such as immigration, white entitlement and deportation. Without spoiling it much, the story starts with the housekeeper finding Harlan Thrombey(played by Christopher Plummer), a famous mystery writer, dead, his throat slit and the knife in his hand. Although it is queer, that a person who has just celebrated 85th birthday took his own life. A couple of cops comes to the Thrombey estate to investigate. Harlan's daughter, Linda(played by Jamie Lee Curtis) is a successful businesswoman with a husband named Richard(Don Johnson) and an awful son named Ransom(played by Chris Evans). Harlan's son, Walt(played by Michael Shannon) runs the publishing side and the wife of Harlan's deceased son, Joni(played by Toni Collette), is deep into self-help. The nurse, Marta Cabrera(the heroine of the story played by Ana de Armas), whom Harlan trusted the most. Then comes, Detective Benoit Blanc(played by Daniel Craig with a comedic southern accent) investigates the case notwithstanding, learning that he was delivered a news story about the suicide and envelope of money from an anonymous person. The question of who brought in Blanc drives the narrative as much as who killed Harlan. Moreover, the revelation that several members had a motive to kill keeps the viewer intrigued. The revelations and details kept the viewer guessing and made it hard to predict where the movie was going. Accordingly, it brings into light the social inequality with Marta and her mother being immigrants. The Thrombey's claim to love Marta though she does not receive an invitation to the funeral. In terms of performance, De Armas delivered a fantastic performance playing an innocent and confused Marta. Surprisingly, Chris Evans portrayed his role as an awful person to perfection with Craig being wonderfully comedic as Blanc. Accordingly, the screenplay was brilliant, with every little detail having relevance to the whole story, like a puzzle. The cinematography focused on the mystery itself was pleasing with the best shot being in the ending(in my opinion). However, due to a large cast, some actors were sidelined in some parts of the story. Regardless, I found the film fresh due to its own unconventional story, adding comedy to a murder mystery. Ultimately, it is all about the whodunit revealed in such unexpected ways that when you think you have it all figured out, you realize something does not add up. When it was over, I marvelled at just how the details of what happened that night revealed themselves.