A delightful throwback to classic whodunnits

Rating: 8/10 (19 January 2020)

In »Knives Out«, the seemlingly clumsy private investigator Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is hell-bent on illuminating the mysterious suicide of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), a famous crime novelist. Blanc teams up with Thrombey's shy nurse Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas). But of course, nothing is as it seems; the Thrombey family is as colorful as it is shady.
Oh, I love these classy crime movies! You know how it works: An old patriarch dies and his whole family wants to inherit the fortune he leaves behind. And of course, you gotta have a creepy mansion with secret passageways as well as an eccentric private eye. Director Rian Johnson (»The Brothers Bloom«, »The Last Jedi«) follows the tried and true formula to a tee, his love for the genre is apparent. There are some ironic moments and references (»Clue«; »Murder, She Wrote«), but most of the time, Johnson plays it straight.
The pacing is fast and entertaining, Benoit Blanc and Marta Cabrera are likeable main characters. Craig apparently had a lot of fun with his portrayal of the strangely clueless Blanc. You always wonder what's the deal with this guy. I personally would have loved to see some kind of backstory for him, but I guess the mystery surrounding him is fascinating as well. De Arma's nervous and kind-harted Marta is very endearing; when you watch this movie, you really want her to get out of this mess unscathed. And yeah, the fact that she has to puke whenever she lies is bloody brilliant.
»Knives Out« works very well as an audience flick. The movie theatre was cram-full when I watched it and everyone had a great time figuring out the twists and turns. Of course this movie doesn't reinvent the wheel; a weakness with most of these stories is the fact that the plot tends to become a bit too convoluted at the end. This happens here, too. But regardless, »Knives Out« is a charismatic update to a familiar genre, political undertones and a dumb yet thrilling car chase included. I'm already looking forward to the announced sequel.