Whodunnit? This movie, I mean, because it's amazing!!!

Rating: 10/10 (6 December 2019)

Knives Out is, as you have probably heard, the latest gem by Rian Johnson (Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) and tells the story of a rich family mourning the lost of their father (or grand father or else) who now finds itself, all of the sudden, at the center of a big investigation led by Benoit Blanc, who doesn't even know who hired him, to resolve the possible crime of the patriarcal figure, Harlan Thrombey.
This movie takes the whodunnit genre and turns it on itself completely, or formula-wise at least. It shifts the focus of it's plot and makes it a great guessing game, as any movie of this genre should be, but you find yourself, at the midway point, not guessing what you thought you would be. Johnson is misleading you where he wants to but not doing so in a mean-spirited way (to lose you completely if I must say) but in a way where it just gets you where you need to be in the end to fully enjoy the story in it's entirety. Also, I was anticipating the performance by Ana De Armas and, safe to say, she didn't disappoint, with her brilliant subtlety in the showing of her raw emotions, backed by a complete internal understanding of the character and her background. Every actor is on point and perfectly casted here but she was the standout for me.
The world building and character development by Rian Johnson is amazing and it is, as always, so refreshing to give money to an original concept in Hollywood!!! The direction is also incredible, and even though I like to analyze movies on 2nd and subsequent viewings, the camera work was so astonishing here that I had to analyze it and gaze at it for most of the film. It makes you feel the tension when it needs to, the anxious confrontation with the truth (that a murder mystery brings) when it's necessary and the kindness when it's earned. The score is also mind-buzzing and perfectly fitted for this genre, so I do not know who you are Nathan Johnson but good job!!!
In the end, the story is upbeat and modernizes/revolutionizes the genre, the characters are great and amazingly built, the direction is probably one of the best this year, the effects are entertaining and beyond and the score is remarkable, and I'm forgetting a lot too. I'm not a professionnal critic or anything, but this is clearly the best movie of the year for me!!! 10/10