“I suspect foul play.”
Murder mysteries have been a staple of entertainment since, perhaps, the dawn of time. Everyone loves a good mystery, especially when a heinous crime such as murder is involved. While the mystery genre never really went away, it has slowly become more suspenseful and less campy.
“Knives Out” seeks to fill the classic murder mystery shaped hole in recent media, taking heavy inspiration from classics such as “Sherlock Holmes” and “Clue.” Best known for 2017’s controversial “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” writer and director Rian Johnson assembled an all-star cast to attempt to create the next great whodunit film.
Featuring the likes of Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Lakeith Stanfield, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Michael Shannon, Christopher Plumber, Jaeden Martell and Frank Oz, “Knives Out” features enough names to attract fans of potentially hundreds of movies. When films get such fantastic casts, however, they tend to rely too much on their actors and not enough on everything else. Does “Knives Out” fall into this trap?
Renowned mystery novelist Harlan Thrombey is dead. The day after his 85th birthday, the old man was found in his study in what seems to be a suicide. Before the book is closed on the case of his death, however, famed detective Benoit Blanc is hired anonymously to investigate the suicide. After interviewing Thrombey’s eccentric family, Blanc concludes that there might be more to the suicide than meets the eye.
“Knives Out” blew me away. The film not only met my expectations but exceeded them. I was fully engrossed in the film from the second it began. It goes about its plot in a way that I never saw coming, completely rethinking the murder mystery genre in an incredibly creative way.
The film has one of those “how the heck did they think of that?” plots that had my mouth fully agape when the big reveal comes during the film’s climax. This is mostly due to the fantastic script by Rian Johnson which could’ve succeeded in any form of media, be it film, television or even video game.
Johnson also masterfully directs a completely insane cast, full of some of the biggest stars from the past 30 years of film. Each actor is placed in the perfect role, giving some of the best performances of their careers. The ensemble is so consistent that I can’t even point to a single standout performance; they’re all simply that good.
“Knives Out” not only weaves a suspenseful murder mystery but is also the funniest film I’ve seen all year. The film is teeming with hilarious moments and one-liners that had the packed theater I saw the film in erupting with laughter time after time.
Perhaps the only complaint that I have with the film is that there were a few scenes that felt forced between some of the actors. While few, these scenes stuck out like a sore thumb when surrounded by the otherwise fantastic film.
“Knives Out” is a film that almost everyone can get some enjoyment out of, whether they be huge mystery fans or simply want to gawk at Chris Evans for two hours. With a stellar plot that will leave your head spinning and a cast that doesn’t miss a beat, “Knives Out” will likely go down as one of the best mystery films of the decade.
4.5/5 Stars
