Great 70s Homage to Classic Whodunnits

Rating: 8/10 (3 December 2019)

Knives Out stars many people and is a Rian Johnson whodunnit about a renowned crime novelist who is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday. A detective is then mysteriously enlisted to investigate. He questions and investigates everything and everyone in the house to find out what actually happened. I like Rian Johnson and his films from Looper to The Last Jedi. Naturally I was excited. However I found myself to be nervous for what was to come. Murder on the Orient Express came out two years ago and had an all star cast, similar to this, and I was really pumped for it. After watching it I was let down and kind of bored. I didn't want a repeat of that. Thankfully it's not! Johnson proves himself, yet again, as one of the best film directors in the business today. The story had so many laughs and shocking scenes. It took a different approach than a typical mystery film since we're given some information towards the beginning which confused me at first. I didn't know where it would go after that but it still managed to continue a mysterious tone and question what would happen next. The cast is just absolutely fantastic, not a single bad performance. The most notable performances for me were Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas. First off, Daniel Craig's voice took me for a loop. I'm so used to his british accent that when it was a southern accent I wasn't sure if it would annoy me, but I loved it. Honestly one of the best performances of the year. Chris Evan totally changes his nice Captain America personality to a total asshole and he does it so well. Every scene was fun with him. By far the best part of the film was Ana de Armas. She was in 2049 and I really liked her in that. I didn't think she'd be in this film for most of the runtime, but thankfully she was the star of it. The score from Nathan Johnson felt like a 70s mystery show. Great choice with that. The cinematography by Steve Yedlin capture the gorgeous setting. Some of the best production design of the year. As for flaws there's a couple characters that didn't feel necessary to the plot entirely. Jaeden Martell has maybe four lines because he does nothing and the cops that come and investigate didn't do much either. LaKeith Stanfield does some interviews, but the rest felt a little insignificant. Other than a couple week characters I had a blast watching Knives Out. I don't know if it has a strong enough potential for the oscars, but with a good screenplay and beautiful set design, I think it may have some of a chance.
My Grade: A-