Easy one of the best films of the year, with plenty of rewatch value

Rating: 10/10 (27 November 2019)

I saw this film today, and left wishing to see it again in the cinema - a thoroughly enjoyable affair, with a whodunnit with more twists and turns than the Nürburgring.
Rian Johnson, who's a filmmaker I've always enjoyed - especially when he can operate without the handcuffs of a franchise such as Star Wars, which is easily the most stifled film to date - and has a habit of writing and directing films that don't quite fit a mold. Brick is a Neo-Noir in theory, but is also not, and Looper is a Sci-Fi that often isn't. Knives Out is a Mystery, but it's predominantly a character study and comedy, particularly with Harlem (Christopher Plummer) and Marta (Ana De Armas).
Easily the two best aspects to this story are the contempory nature setting of modern day to contrast with the old school mystery elements similar to Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle stories to help make the story funny, and also the acting.
Quickly on the film's structure and editing, Johnson does manage to do several moments of misdirection; we are shown the truth vey early in the film, as with several people's recounting stories to the police, but the way that the story twists this is something that I think can be taught in Film School as setting precedents and placing details that people might not notice like a phrase, or a question that gets answered later in an organic way. It probably won't get acknowledged by the Oscars in either the screenwriting or editing departments, but it should be.
Acting wise, this film is loaded, but the four main standouts are Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana De Armas, and Christopher Plummer.
Daniel Craig, who in the vain of Logan Lucky, gets to do something a bit more funny and different than the James Bond films, and it's clear he really enjoys playing this Kentucky version of Sherlock Holmes, who is simultaneously believable as a sleuth - for he does uncover the whole truth - but is also able to make it not seem like a revelation.
Chris Evans, similarly, gets to play a character who is the exact opposite of what he does as Captain America, where plays, essentially, a total tool. However, he's a total tool who still carries himself with a degree of charisma and who is watchable and identifiable - even if its the worst parts of him we're identifying with.
Ana De Armas and Christopher Plummer respectively play Marta Cabrera and Harlan Thrombley, and are both the heart of the film. Marta is exceptionally likable, and clearly is representative of similar traits of Harlan - both are people who built their success from the ground up, with Harlan being a self-made millionaire crime writer, and Marta being a daughter of immigrants who works as a nurse. Marta is essentially the main character, and also the only one played by someone unfamiliar to Western audiences, as this enhances her appeal as a hard working person, and likewise Plummer plays Harlan like a man who cares for everybody around him and goes out of his way to help them, but is also firm when he needs. Both Plummer and De Armas could've played these roles as "throwaways", but both of them ensure that we're rooting for both of them until the end. Fantastic work by them both.
I loved every part of this film, and I may even see it a few more times in theatres - I recommend you do too.