Knives Out doesn't cut it.

Rating: 5/10 (3 December 2019)

When 85 year old mystery writer multi millionaire Harlan Thrombley (Christopher Plummer) is found with his throat slit, foul play is naturally suspected. Previous to his demise he decides to cut his parasite family out of the will and give it to his nurse Marta, (Ana De Armas) much to the angry chagrin of the rest of the family. Meanwhile famed detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is brought on the case by a mysterious employer to untangle things.
Clue anyone? Performances by all the suspects are arch and played for laughs but not many materialize. They are simply en masse a greedy, unctuous family offering broad performances and cringing personalities while Craigs corn porn accent grills suspects with marbles in his mouth.
Rian Johnson's direction is anemic as he relies on guilty expressions in wide angle to advance his predictable plot that attempts to have two mysteries (one to clear our heroine, one to find the real culprit ) hanging in the balance and both are torpidly pursued.
The real star is ultimately the mansion and its incredible interior of furniture, secret passages and fantastic wall paper that gives the film a Gothic mystery feel. It at least gives you something to look at while Craig mumbles and surly family members crumble.