A Fantastically Clever Whodunnit

Rating: 9/10 (1 December 2019)

From Looper to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Arian Johnson has been a filmmaker on the rise for the last number of years. Although many Star Wars fans seem to not like his addition to the Star Wars franchise, I loved it and I believe him to be one of the greatest directors out there today. My love for him as a filmmaker alone had me excited for his newest release in Knives Out. He took a step backward since his last outing, writing a directing a very small movie with a very large feel. This move was the best thing he could have possibly done for his career, because he has made one hell of a crowd pleaser. Knives Out is terrific and here's why it's worth your time.
Following the death of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), his entire family is questioned about his sudden demise. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) oversees this investigation and believes there to be a lot hidden under the surface of this story. This begins the story and classic "whodunnit" feel. There is something that feels very tradition about this movie, with updated dialogue and very unique camerawork to make it a fantastic watch. This movie is pretty much as good as you can get with a story like this these days. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Knives Out.
I can praise Rian Johnson for writing a clever screenplay that keeps you on the edge of your seat, which is does, or I can gush about the precise cinematography that is incredibly well-done, but this film is held together by an insanely talented cast who are all having a blast. If not for this stellar cast committing to these wacky and hilarious characters, then Knives Out would have been pretty boring. This movie benefits from the comedy and I think this cast has a lot to do with that. With that said, this film isn't quite perfect.
Even though nitpicking a movie like this is kind of ridiculous, due to the nature of it needing to contain twists and turns, I have to admit that the movie is slightly predictable, even though it leads you to believe it's not. Without ruining anything, it becomes fairly obvious where things will go after a certain point, so that was a detriment for me. Thankfully, the way everything is presented is very clever and definitely showcases the reveals in ways you're not expecting. Even if you figure out what happened, you won't be able to predict how it happened, and I really appreciated that aspect.
In the end, Knives Out has a nice blend of suspense and comedy to keep almost audiences engaged. I found this blend to be great and would happily revisit these characters again in the future. With fantastic writing and directing by Rian Johnson and a cast that's giving their all in the funnest way possible, it's hard not to like this one. For fans of murder mysteries, comedies, or even any of these performers, I highly recommend checking out Knives Out.