Knives Out Review

Rian Johnson’s Knives Out is an entertaining, progressive mystery surrounding the untimely death of 85-year-old Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plunmer). Although it is previously ruled a suicide by the police, the circumstances of his death place everyone in his family as a suspect in his murder case. Renowned Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is hired by an anonymous party to sift through all the lies told by family members to figure out the truth. Who hired Detective Blanc and who killed Harlan Thrombey are the main questions that push the plot of Knives Out.

One of the main characters, Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), proves to be helpful in unfolding the course of events leading up to Harlan’s death. Marta is Harlan’s caregiver/nurse whom he is close to. She has a certain condition in which she cannot lie. If she even thinks about lying, she immediately vomits. Detective Blanc uses this vulnerability of hers throughout the investigation to help him tell apart the lies from the truth.

Knives Out is captivating as soon as it begins. It starts off with Harlan’s alleged suicide and police officers (LaKeith Stanfield and Noah Segan) questioning the family members about what they last remember from the party thrown the day of Harlan’s death. Harlan Thrombey was the head of the Thrombey family. He made his living as an author of countless mysterious novels that fill his mansion. He earned a huge fortune from his novels, with which he supported his entire family consisting of ten people. As all family members recount the detail of events leading up to Harlan’s death to the police officers, each story somehow contradicts the other. It seems as though they all recall the party differently which makes it difficult to discern the truth from lies. Throughout the film, it is made clear that each character has a motive to harm Harlan and everyone is under suspicion.

Ana de Armas, the heroine of the film, delivers a great performance despite it being her first ever big role. Daniel Craig plays a detective with a southern drawl and an oversized ego, giving a performance hard to forget. Craig revealed in an interview the reason behind Johnson’s request for Detective Blanc to have a southern accent was to make him stand out from the other characters. Because the movie is set in Massachusetts, it sets him apart as an outsider from the rest of the cast. Ana de Armas’ accent as Marta also makes her stand out from the Thrombey family. By making Marta and Detective Blanc different from the Thrombeys, Johnson sets up a narrative about family, betrayal, outsiders, and more.

Cinematically unexpected filmmaking and dysfunctional family dialogue make Knives Out an enjoyable film to watch. Johnson has given well-known actors such as Chris Evans (portraying grandson Ransom Drysdale) new, lighter, but no less important material. It’s a cast full of colorful personalities, each unique in their own right. Other cast members include Katherine Langford, playing Meg Thrombey who needs her grandfather’s money to finish college, and Jaeden Martell, playing white supremacist Jacob Thrombey. It’s a true whodunnit; up until the moments where viewers learn the truth, anyone is a plausible culprit.

Ultimately, the culprit is revealed at the end of the film in a totally unexpected way. As soon as you have it all figured out, Johnson completely flips it around. Knives Out is a great piece of cinematic work because of how it keeps you so focused on what the left hand is doing, that you completely overlook the right. The ending is phenomenal and unique to its story. Anyone who watches this film will not regret doing so because of its excellent writing, directing, unexpected twists, and solid acting.

Because of its unexpected success at the box office, Rian Johnson said in an interview he is considering a sequel. He particularly noted that he had a fun time working with Daniel Craig, and that the return of Detective Benoit Blanc to the big screen is a real possibility.