Truly a masterpiece of subverting expectations.

Rating: 9/10 (30 November 2019)

Knives Out tells the story of the Thrombey's, an upper class family of wealth and importance celebrating the 85th birthday of the patriarch Harlan (Plummer), a day later Harlan is found with his throat slit and every one in the family, including the servants becomes a suspect, as they all have motive.
It is very unique to see a murder mystery that is completely original, not a book adaptation nor a property of long standing fiction. These are original character in a pretty tired premise. When I walked into the theatre I was expecting this to play out like any old game of clue, or Sherlock, with Benoit Blanc (Craig) playing the eccentric private detective that puts every piece together in the end. However by deviating away from the traditional mystery formula, along with a great score and masterful/controlled camerawork, it really unravels its performances and characters in a funny and suspenseful way.
This is a stellar cast, the two shining members being Chris Evans as Ransom Drysdale the spoiled grandson of Harlan and Daniel Craig as the inconsiderate southern detective. Both of them are playing against their type are truly transformative in their roles. They were not James Bond or Captain America, they were two people trying to figure out how to solve the mystery looming above them. The supporting characters are also great, Don Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield and Ana de Armas as the son-in law, daughter, son, daughter-in-law, crime scene investigator and Harlan's caretaker do not just blend into the movie as they have clear personalities and motives for what they want to do. However some of the cast do just disappear into the movie, particularly Katherine Langford and Jaeden Martell as the other two grandchildren.
Given the movie's affinity for subverting expectations, it may render some plot points moot or unimportant at times. Knives Out is no exception, this movie would set up some plot points that would make the mystery loom and linger on, however when everything is revealed these plot points may not get the resolution they deserve. Also some characters really only exist for four or five lines/jokes and then are basically forgotten about by the end. However this might be because of the visual storytelling at the end. With the right context and clues, the audience can infer the real ending, based on nothing but facial expressions, prop treatment and setting displacement. This is how we know we have a true master of acting and directing, when an object is shown and it gives us much more can be deduced than just what is seen on screen.
Without spoiling anything, don't go into this movie expecting a traditional murder mystery, the trailers really set it up to be one, but this is a Rian Johnson film. I understand why people were peeved at him for his treatment of Star Wars, mainly because his subversion of expectations made them mad, as people grew up with the characters and story, so in a sense they belong to the public and they didn't like the liberties he took with the new additions he made. But these characters and this story belong to him and he can do whatever he wants with them. In fact the less you know, the better. Expect some foul play.