I was a little skeptical before this Knives Out review. Heading into the theatre to see a movie by a man who absolutely destroyed Star Wars.
I wasn’t quite sure if the wounds had healed but It’s safe to say that what Rian Johnson lacked in The Last Jedi he more than made up for with this one.
Knives Out is one of my favorite movies of 2019. This murder-mystery whodunnit completely changes the genre.
Mixing what feels like an Agatha Christie story with an almost Tarantino like structure. We have various little intertwines within the story that chops and changes and weaves the narrative so it’s much easier to understand.
The film revolves around Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) a man who owns a publishing empire and a giant house in the sticks.
This man is found dead in his room and all of his money-grabbing family are suspected of his murder as the original suicide ruling arouses suspicion.
Lieutenant Elliott (LaKeith Stanfield) and Trooper Wagner (Noah Segan) are put on the case to question the family. Every member has had an encounter with Harlan on the night of his death. All have the motive to kill the multi-millionaire. Joining the police in their investigation is Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), who plays Sherlock and Poirot with a thick southern accent.
Craig is the stand-out performer in this movie by a long country mile, but he also comes across too smart at times.
His method of solving the crime almost borderlines a superhero ability. So smart in fact that towards the end of the movie I was losing track of how he came to his ultimate conclusion.
But that’s my fault, I’m not too bright. Whoever wrote the screenplay thou however is one smart individual indeed.
“A stand-out 2019 movie. One of this years best!”
With such an outstanding cast including Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, Toni Collette you’d think they’d all be trying to outshine one another.
Instead, they blend perfectly and make for quite the spectacle mixing humour into quite serious proceedings is no easy feat. But Chris Evans especially drives some superb comedic timing showing his range as an actor.
The main star of the show here is Ana De Armas. Ana plays Harlan’s nurse and carer and is pivotal to the plot. Whilst not needing to project much range in this particular role she is taken under the wing of Benoit Blanc (Craig). He brings her on board to help him solve the case.
This direction of the story is incredible. For me, it completely stands out against other murder-mystery movies as quite early on we as the audience are exposed to the truth.
It’s then throughout the story we are dripping bits of the truth to the other cast members. It feels as thou we the audience are in on it too. As thou, we are in the mind of Craig’s character.
I thought this angle was superb and kept me gripped more than a standard murder-mystery story was.
But that’s not to say the film is predictable oh no. Just when you think you’ve figured it out the script twists in a new surprise and you’re on the edge of your seat with anticipation.
Knives Out Review Overall
With a superb soundtrack, gripping moments and a feel of quality all round Knives Out is certainly a stand out 2019 movie.
With a runtime of 130 mins, it flies by so quickly! Whilst Rian Johnson ruined a franchise for the nerds, he’s certainly amplified the interest in the murder-mystery slate. Hats off to you sir.
A must-watch for 2019! Have you seen Knives out? If so, what did you think of it?
Review by Sean Evans
Summary
Gripping, intriguing and absolutely incredible. Knives Out is a film that breathes a new lease of life and steps up many levels above those dull ITV3 murder-mysterys you see on TV on a Sunday afternoon.
