A Fun Old-School Mystery With Enough Twists to Keep You Guessing

Rating: 8/10 (29 November 2019)

If you saw the marketing material for Knives Out, it pitches you on a classic whodunit. All of the characters have something to hide, things are often not as they appear and there's going to be a big twist at the end. Some of these elements are in Knives Out but this is a rare case in that it looks like a whodunit, sounds like a whodunit but is actually something else. They don't go the expected route and they reveal the nature of the crime much earlier than you would expect them to. It was a nice choice to subvert expectations, I was a little disappointed but they brought me around on it by the end. So adjust your line of thinking going into Knives Out, you might think you have it figured out but trust me when I say "THE GAME'S AFOOT."
We also get a classic setup for the characters motivations, it was a nice blend of what you expect and something new. A fortune is at stake, everyone has something to gain from Harlan's death and when the shoe drops, no one is completely forthcoming. There's some depth given to all the players, I was surprised that Michael Shannon or Toni Collette weren't given more to go off of but we learn enough about them to understand why everyone is a suspect. I did get a little annoyed with how everyone was constantly lying or snickering when Blanc looked away, it shifted my thinking into suspecting many parties being involved when the reality was much more simple. There are so many red herrings that it was tiresome to keep up but I do think the ending delivered the desired payoff.
The cast of this movie doesn't compare to the Avengers or you're average Marvel team up but you're going to recognize most of this cast and they've all given memorable performances in other films. I'd classify Daniel Craig as the lead and he's pitch perfect as Blanc. He gets the opportunity to be a little more laid back and comedic compared to James Bond and between this and Logan Lucky, he's got the range to pull this off. I really enjoyed the energy he brought to his character and I tip my hat to him for stretching a little in Knives Out. Ana de Armas gets the next most screen time and I thought she was good as well. She's dressed down and the role is much less glamorous than something like Blade Runner 2049 and she appropriately adapts. She's decent at being mousy and reserved and she added a lot to this movie. Chris Evans is in the cast, he's more sarcastic than when he's playing Cap but this was a nice return to a more Johnny Storm or Jensen character. But he also has to get serious and if you haven't seen his more dramatic work, he's more than capable of that and he delivers. Christopher Plummer was in the movie more than I thought he would be, he's a theatrical treasure, of course he was great. The rest of the supporting cast gets less to work with than you would think, they all get their moments but they're collectively good as opposed to 1 or 2 standout performances (all of them were good at giving the shifty-eye and twirling their respective moustaches).
The best setting for a murder mystery is always a big mansion on a dark and stormy night. Knives Out has that classic kind of flavour, it isn't afraid to steer into tropes while avoiding others. I really liked the setting, it was fun and there's a lot of atmosphere despite the movie only featuring a few locations. The house becomes another character on the screen and this can be important in helping bring you into this world. The movie is shot well on top of this, the costuming and the set dressing is what you would picture in a game of Clue (it was referenced in the movie), it was only missing a ball and a character in a tuxedo. It's edited and scored to grow the tension and even though I would describe it as more workmanlike than fantastic, there were few missteps or problems which is a credit to the movie.
I was pleasantly surprised by Knives Out. Despite the overwhelmingly positive critical response, I was happy to catch this when it was on streaming services. A friend of mine was eager to see it though and I'm glad he convinced me to go. I'm glad Rian Johnson got the opportunity to bounce back (I don't want to comment on the Last Jedi, my review is on the site and the screaming of opposing opinions on both sides about The Last Jedi robbed me of my enjoyment of Star Wars, thanks a lot for that everyone). I like a good murder mystery but I have a hard time reading the genre due the trope heavy kind of writing it requires. This carries over into movies but I have to admit when they're done right, they can be breathtaking (Gone Girl, A Simple Favour are both excellent movies that have come out recently). If I were looking for a comparison, it shares a lot in common with Murder on the Orient Express (the 2017 Kenneth Branagh directed movie) and I would pick Knives Out as the better effort. The cast looks like their having a blast, the characters are diverse and mysterious, the story is engaging and features enough curve balls to keep the reveal a mystery and the setting is a fun old school throwback that I enjoyed as well. Knives Out is a fun couple of hours at the theatre, its not a towering achievement in cinema or a masterpiece of screenwriting but its a well thrown change-up leading into the December "award" season. I'd rate Knives Out between a 8-9/10 but I'm going to round down until I see it a 2nd time, I don't know if it will hold up as well to repeat viewings. If you're interested, I'd recommend checking it out in theatres