Self-Deprecation, Misdirection, and Reinvention

Rating: 9/10 (16 June 2020)

Self-Deprecation, Misdirection, and Reinvention
Review of Knives Out - June 15, 2020 - by Vince Londini
Rian Johnson's murder mystery brings a modern sensibility and wit. Not afraid of self-deprecation, whether the house ("like a clue board"), the detective ("you're not much of a detective"), or the car chase ("that...was the dumbest car chase of all time"), Johnson mostly keeps it light with characters who are largely aware of their limitations.
Johnson proves a master at misdirection. The evidence of which becomes clearer after you've seen it through.
A number of famous names take fun turns here, including Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Johnson. But the key casting decisions gambled on whether Daniel Craig and Chris Evans could escape the shadow of their genre-defining roles.
Craig slips into the skin of an eccentric, self-effacing, shambling detective - Peter Falk would be proud - and pretty-much pulls it off. No license to kill, here.
Evans' turn is a bit tougher. Without a contrived accent to work with, he still sounds like Steve Rogers even as Ransom Drysdale tells-off each of his relatives, one by one. In posture and demeanor he sells the spoiled scion. We are almost freed from the blinding glint off of Cap's vibranium shield. A scene establishing Ransom's scoundrel-ness might have helped. So, I find Evans less convincing - but entertaining nonetheless.
As for the mystery? Suffice it to say you'll spend the whole movie second-guessing whether you can trust what you've seen. Then you'll find out the real rules at the end...and that's when you'll want to watch it again. 9/10.