Acclaimed writer and director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) pays tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie in KNIVES OUT, a fresh, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect. When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan’s dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan’s untimely death. With an all-star ensemble cast including Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford and Jaeden Martell, KNIVES OUT is a fun, witty and stylish whodunit guaranteed to keep audiences guessing until the very end.
S**N
A mystery movie!
Well the mystery is already solved in the beginning but then there is another mystery and a twist. And vomiting! This is a modern mystery with comedy and it's a bit of a thriller. I was on the edge my seat hoping the main character didn't get caught for her role in the "murder." The rich family are duplicitous and manipulative scum bags but you don't hate them. You do dislike their behavior.At first I thought the beginning was an unreliable narrative when the family turns on the protagonist/murderer after the will reading. Did she get her claws into the old man or was she a very good caretaker he cherished? It's obvious as the story continues she's too honest and too kind to do something so heinous. ( Or is she? ) She even has a tell that wouldn't be acceptable during Texas hold 'em. It’s rare lately to watch fully fleshed out characters go toe to toe. I like the lead actress’s performance. She isn’t a trope of a weird pixie woman-child she’s just a good person dealing with a crazy situation. I also live for her character’s huge role and the “short” relationship with her very theatrical employer is endearing.Some people are complaining about "woke" politics... those people don't know what that means. This is a story of the have and have nots and the entitlement of trust fund babies. This is also the story of a neglectful famous father who likes to control everybody and everything even from beyond the grave. This story with an nearly all white cast is about class and lack thereof. Just because the protagonist is an immigrant or child of one doesn't make this movie overtly political. The film reflects our times in a very limited scope. The protagonist is a white immigrant as are many caretakers for the rich, insured elderly, or disabled with rich family. (Yes you can be Hispanic and white.) Rich people always look down on servants and the family in this flick doesn't let you down with their classist passive aggressive behavior. This is an excellent and well paced film with memorable characters and two great twists...I mean three great twists.
R**C
Twists and turns!
OMG! Loved this movie! Excellent writing and performances! I remember hearing a lot of buzz about it when it came out and it then disappeared from the streaming sites. When Glass Onion came out, I wanted to watch Knives Out first, but couldn't find it anywhere.
S**Y
Knives Out - A Modern Mystery Whodunit
I think the best thing going for this film is that it takes place in a modern time. Typically stories like these are antiquated and old-timey, and so I really appreciate the effort put into this mystery being in our current time. However, I really do think this film was overhyped and there's probably a lot of rational reason for that. For one, I don't think this type of mystery generally plays to the audience that it had in mind. Whodunits and mysteries of this sort are from the past, so generally your audience is going to be much older. You can see that in some of the casting in this film, however there are some newer players to the game in this one as well.It's a perfect mix of styles old & new, and it's layered storytelling at its finest. I really think a repeat viewing will be worth your time, as I really enjoyed watching both commentaries by Rian Johnson. I had just watched Murder on the Orient Express just before this, and I honestly got more jollies out of that one than I did in this. I think the main reason for that is they really don't make any one character likable in this movie other than Daniel Craig's detective. And honestly, that's because he's so absurdly silly in this weird way that it's just completely absorbing to watch him unravel the mystery.I can't say I was surprised by the ending, and felt that I had kind of put together the pieces by the end for them to be locked into place. There's a lot of attention to detail and the special features will make that abundantly clear, and for that I really appreciate this film. I think it's a great movie and a great mystery, but I do think it's overplayed as being sort of a ground breaking film, and in a way it is, but also there's other great whodunits and mysteries out there but usually don't take place in the modern era.I'm happy for Rian Johnson that he found a passion project like this one after flopping on Star Wars (I don't think he did, but it's the common sentiment). He's a great filmmaker and continues to display a great eye as a director. Following Brick with movies like this really make me think he should continue doing more modern day mysteries and resurrecting or maybe twisting the genre into a new, fun direction. But please, please, please make another movie with Daniel Craig's detective, which I do believe they are making a Knives Out 2. He is the sole reason to watch this movie, but everyone else is also phenomenal in their roles. Everyone has their time to shine!
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