A detective and a trooper
travel to a lush estate to interview the quirky relatives of a patriarch who
died during his 85th birthday celebration.
Director: Rian Johnson
Cast: Daniel Craig, Chris
Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni
Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Christopher
Plummer
Release Date: November 27,
2019
Rated PG-13 for thematic
elements including brief violence, some strong language, sexual references, and
drug material
Runtime: 2 hr. 10 min.
Genres: Comedy, Crime,
Drama
Review:
Rian Johnson’s Knives Out
is a refreshing throwback to those old school ensemble films based on Agatha
Christie books. Johnson’s plot bears a
lot of resemblances to those types of films and he stacks his film with a
wonderful motley crew of possible culprits.
His direction moves the film at a brisk pace with only a few dead spots
in the final reel. The crisp direction
keeps your eyes peeled to every detail as you start trying to piece together
the truth. Some of these types of film
tend to cheat the story by using unbelievable twist; thankfully this story is a
bit more honest. If there’s one drawback
to that approach it’s that the central mystery isn’t all that complex and
pretty easy to figure out before it’s all laid out on screen. It’s not a major drawback but those looking
for a strong mystery will be left wanting. The film’s biggest asset is its stellar cast
who each seem to be having a ball in each of their roles. Daniel Craig’s turn as a Foghorn Leghorn
sounding detective is just incredibly fun and you sort of wonder why the story
didn’t use him as the central point of the film. Instead he’s on the boundaries of the story
playing a larger part in its finale.
Instead it’s Ana de Armas character who is the focal point of the story
and she delivers a solid performance in the midst of bigger names. Sadly, the supporting players like Toni
Collette, Jamie Lee Curtis and Michael Shannon are left with precious slivers
of screen time to shine. Still they all
make the most of it and deliver a fun film across the board that feels like a
lesser version of the movie Clue.
B
