@cutecruel >Overall, it's an 'immigrants vs. the rich people' movie and you can guess where it goes from the beginning
No, it isn't. I hate 'woke' movies as much as the next guy and I hate when movies try to preach overt political messages. However, this movie does nothing of the sort. The movie isn't about immigrants or rich people it's about characters. Martha (Ana De Armas) isn't a stand-in for immigrants. The movie doesn't try to hit you over the head with a message Martha is good therefore immigrants are good. Martha being an immigrant is only a small part of her character. Yes, the movie constantly repeats that Martha is good at her job and that she's a good person. But those are essential aspects of her character that are relevant to the story. The story practically hinges on the fact that Martha is a good person. So there is nothing wrong with letting this sink in the audience's awareness.
Bottom line, this is in no shape or form a 'woke' movie.
@curtwagner1984 uhm yes it is, she very much is meant to be a symbol for immigrants. Have you not paid attention to how the movie ends, with her standing on the balcony looking down at the rich assholes? Pretty clear visual communication going on there. Did you notice how everyone from the family messes up the country she’s from? They don’t spell it out for you, but the subtext is extremely obvious with this film.
Review by cutecruelBlockedParent2020-02-05T20:53:17Z— updated 2020-02-15T16:44:18Z
Knives Out disappointed me, it’s cliched and not as clever as those it pays homage to. 2019 is really the wave of “woke” American movies that think they're way more clever than they actually are.
Every character is an exaggerated stereotype of some sort, shallow caricatures. The good senior millionaire – see he isn’t bad like the rest of his family! Except, who do you think raised this family? The well-intentioned “black” cop and dumb “white” detective. The members of the family are obviously meant to be parodies of stereotypes, but they’re either too on the nose or too underdeveloped, and just end up becoming the stereotypes they’re parodying.
But the impossibly kind messiah born to an illegal immigrant bothered me the most - Marta Cabrera has exactly two expressions throughout the whole movie, such an anti-feminist character, no agency whatsoever. She is the modern Mother Teresa – the best nurse, has to always tell the truth, and needs to save the woman blaming her for murder. It’s her story but she is so passive, and solves nothing. Her only defining character traits are that she’s an immigrant and has a kind heart. By the time Marta is referred to as good for the 20th time, they’ve ensured she feels less like a person and more like a symbol for The Perfect Immigrant.
I wish more was done with the big name actors. Daniel Craig (along with Ana de Armas) got the most screentime but his performance of attempted humor didn’t translate, and his fake Southern accent was really irritating. I get that it was exaggerated, but his acting sucked. A bad casting choice, he just doesn’t fit the character.
I felt like the story was building to something more than it actually was the entire time. The mystery felt like a backdrop for Rian Johnson to vent off his own political frustrations. You can tell he is way too online. Expect to hear things like, “How's your SJW degree coming?”, “Alt right troll”, or “Liberal snowflake”. This clunky use of buzzwords doesn't add anything to the characters or the story. These are manufactured quirks that try to disguise underdeveloped characters as developed. They don't even qualify as satire, because satire needs actual insight and depth to it, some sort of critique. The movie doesn't make any real points about class or privilege. Rian Johnson needs to learn few things about subtlety while bringing his ideologies in movie. And whoever has to clean his house should be given all his wealth I guess.
Overall, it's an 'immigrants vs. the rich people' movie and you can guess where it goes from the beginning because well, it's Hollywood.