DISCLAIMER: I did not see this movie in its original language(English), but in a dubbed version(Italian). I may have missed some nuances.
Knives Out is an interesting movie. It didn't convince me all the way, though.
The setup is quite classic. An old, rich man gets killed in his home. Everybody, from his family members and the people that work for him, has a motive to have done it. It seems something out of an Agatha Christie book. The development of the movie is quite nice, the viewer is always just a little behind.
The movie was well shot. Nice shots in a nice atmosphere. The home really reminds that of the boardgame Clue and it's a nice touch. Some shots made me think of a Wes Anderson movie; that's always a plus in my book.
The characters were the weak point of this movie, in my opinion. For a movie, it's always a risk to have so many. There's no time to develop them properly and they may become one-dimensional. That's what happened here. Each character it's a stereotype. Even the two character with the most screentime (Benoit Blanc and Marta) can't escape from their blandness. A pity, because the actors' performances were quite good.
In the end, it's an entertaining movie, that suffers from trying to be two things. Either you do a tense mistery or you do a parody. This felt like an unconvincing mash-up of the two. Nonetheless, it still manages to capture the attention of the audience with a nice pacing and no dead times.
7/10
Director Rian Johnson, known for directing one of the biggest movies of all time, has returned with a new film, "Knives Out." This film marks his return to the big screen two years after the divisive release of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." The story of "Knives Out" is a classic "whodunit" murder mystery, similar to those written by Agatha Christie, but with a modern twist. The plot centers around the death of wealthy novelist Harlan Thrombey, and private investigator Benoit Blanc believes that everyone at the family gathering is a suspect. The film tackles several issues present in modern society and adds humor without going too far into satire. The plot has several twists and turns, and the visuals and score are pleasing to the eye and ear. The cast, which includes Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Chris Evans, is excellent and well-suited for their roles. The film is not just a copy of Agatha Christie's works, but a new and clever take on the genre that is sure to be enjoyable. For the best experience, it is recommended to watch the movie without knowing too much about the plot.
El director Rian Johnson, conocido por dirigir una de las películas más importantes de todos los tiempos, ha regresado con una nueva película, "Knives Out". Esta película marca su regreso a la pantalla grande dos años después del divisivo estreno de "Star Wars: The Last Jedi". La historia de "Knives Out" es un misterio de asesinato clásico, similar a los escritos por Agatha Christie, pero con un toque moderno. La trama se centra en la muerte del rico novelista Harlan Thrombey, y el investigador privado Benoit Blanc cree que todos los presentes en la reunión familiar son sospechosos. La película aborda varios temas presentes en la sociedad moderna y agrega humor sin caer demasiado en la sátira. La trama tiene varios giros y vueltas, y las imágenes y la partitura son agradables a la vista y al oído. El elenco, que incluye a Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis y Chris Evans, es excelente y muy adecuado para sus papeles. La película no es solo una copia de las obras de Agatha Christie, sino una nueva e inteligente versión del género que seguramente será agradable. Para una mejor experiencia, se recomienda ver la película sin saber demasiado sobre la trama.
I loved this film.
Rian Johnson proved he’s an exceptional writer and director with this one. He masterfully weaves a “whodunnit” into so much more and delivers on every single promise that he sets up. There is no Checkov gun left unfired. No plot threads left unanswered.
I was so focused on trying to find the plot twist in this, every time I thought I had it Rian pulled the rug out from under me and made me think again. In the most spectacular of ways. I have never so loved not knowing what was happening. I cannot recommend this film enough.
I have no idea why other reviews talk about it being woke, it mocks everybody equally (the alt-right & SJW snowflakes as it says) and clearly makes the case that they’re all the same stuck up hypocrites when during the reading of the will everybody turns on Marta and collectively throw her and her undocumented mother under the bus to try and get their inheritance despite them repeatedly telling her she’s like family. Marta is framed as the “good and kind one” not because she’s Hispanic but because that’s her character. Y’all are looking too hard to be offended.
:asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:Rating on my scale::asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:
Exceptional
Memorable
Entertaining
Corny
Boring
Unpleasant
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.
[9.4/10] A good mystery has to do a lot to be, well, good. It has to have a satisfying answer to the “whodunnit” question. But that answer can’t be too predictable or the audience won’t have the thrill of following along. But it also can’t be too out of left field or it will feel like a cheat. So any mystery writer has to balance including enough setups and clues to where the payoff feel earned, but so many that the solution feels obvious or pre-ordained.
But there should also be something more at the heart of the mystery than just the answer to who the killer is. The answer should reveal something deeper about the story, about its major players, about the why and the who behind the mystery. In short, there should be...well...a good donut hole inside the smaller donut inside the larger donut.
Knives Out does it all with flying colors. Its mystery succeeds like clockwork. Writer-director Rian Johnson (of The Last Jedi fame) sets up every little detail to perfection. He lays out his suspects and their motives, establishes the victim and the investigators, and doles out subtle hints at just the right intervals to keep the audience guessing, but informed enough to craft their own theories and follow along.
But he also imbues all that mystery machinery with a larger theme that meshes perfectly with the ecosystem and the family he’s created. On a pure story level, that comes down to rewarding the person who works hard, who acts with kindness and altruism even when it could rip their lives apart, while the people who claim to be her betters are a hypocritical bunch who were born on third base and think they’ve hit a triple. But on a social level, it’s about the same hypocrisy in how we treat immigrants, in how people of every persuasion treat someone they think they’re above, how that treatment shifts markedly when it conflicts with their self-interest, and how that immigrant’s hard work, decency, and above all selflessness makes her more worthy than all the scratching, clawing simps she’s father above than she realizes.
But rather than devolving into didactic sequences to communicate these ideas, Johnson does it all with style and with good humor. Even for a murder mystery that mostly occurs within a single house, Johnson, cinematographer Steve Yedlin, and their superb team bring so much visual flair to the picture. Even before anyone’s said a word, the autumnal feel of the piece and the august old manor establish a sense of tone and place within the world of Knives Out.
Once the movie kicks into gear, that aesthetic virtuosity remains. Johnson and Yedlin set up any number of Wes Anderson-esque tableaus, arranging all the major players in a series of expressive group shots. The scene where the Thrombeys descend on Marta conveys the overwhelming chaos of the scene by switching to steadicam and putting us into the suddenly jostled world that the poor girl’s been thrust into. And the sequence where a faux-affable Walt all but advances on Marta, with the thump of his cane and his first tightening around its handle, communicates the intimidation at play.
Despite those moments of fear, and the tension that permeates the film almost from the jump, Knives Out is a rollicking good time. For as much as the movie is a taut mystery and broader sociopolitical commentary, it’s also an eminently fun laugh riot. Johnson knows when to puncture the tension with a big laugh, and bolstered by Daniel Craig’s performance of a colorful Hercule Poirot by way of Frank Underwood, he’s able to make his characters poignant, menacing, or hilarious on a dime.
But he also knows how to deploy them nigh-perfectly in his well-crafted whodunnit. Johnson and company structure and pace their film brilliantly. The opening act lulls you into thinking you know who the obvious suspects and likely motives for the murder of the Thrombey patriarch are. But then he turns the mystery on its ear, showing the audience exactly, and in elegant detail, how he died and who killed him. The opening police interviews turn out to just be a smart way to introduce these characters and establish their place within Harlan Thrombey’s world.
From there, we follow the tension of the knowledge that Marta is the murderer, but also enlisted to help Benoit Blanc discoverer who the murderer is. The devices that Johnson uses in that effort -- Marta’s lie-related nausea, Harlan’s mystery novel-writer expertise in fooling the authorities, the extra question of who hired Blanc -- all heighten the fun and the twisty excitement as the case progresses. This is, laudably, Marta’s story, and the way her position change, from bystander to inadvertent murderer to overwhelmed patsy to triumphant hero, is aided by the different ways the mystery bends around her.
But the most striking of all if the way that both friend and foe turn against her once it’s revealed that she stands to inherit Harlan’s entire estate. Even including the intricately-crafted mystery, it’s Knives Out best twist. Johnson spends so much of the first act accounting for the different ways the various Thrombeys treat Marta, from dismissive to patronizing to seemingly embracing and understanding. But the second that her financial interest seems to run counter to theirs, every one of them, even and especially the ones who seemed to be decent and kind to her, immediately view her as an interloper denying them of what’s rightfully theirs.
That’s powerful. Johnson and his team build a mystery that unfolds spectacularly, with twists and turns to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat, small clues that add up to big reveals, and variations on the usual form that make it both thrilling and seamless. And yet, it’s biggest strength lies in what the answers to the mystery novel questions Knives Out asks say about the answers to the societal questions it asks in kind.
Johnson’s film is populated with people who believe they are self-made, who built themselves from the ground up, but who are (with one notable exception), entirely hangers on to someone who truly rose to the top of his field through hard work. It’s that kind soul who recognizes his equal and successor not in the slew of self-siding progeny jockeying for position against one another (whom he “cuts loose” to wean them of their dependency), but in the one person they all consider themselves better-than. The Thrombey’s all think themselves superior by dint of birth and by right, but it’s the young woman who, through the good character, industriousness, and decency none of them possesses, proves herself smarter and more worthy than any of them to inherit his fortune, and his legacy. And that makes for one hell of a mystery.
“This case is like a donut
with a hole
in the middle of a donut hole.
Actually,
it's a donut within a donut's hole.”
‘Knives Out’ subverted my expectations...in a good way. A smartly written whodunit movie that manages to be both humorous and classy. The kind of murder mystery that never fails to entertain. Pleasing both cinephiles and mainstream audiences. Perfectly balance, as all things should be. It basically pulls a Hitchcock on us.
Rian Johnson is a great director, but at times has silly ideas. On the other hand, when given the right material I think he’s a great director and writer. He’s also a clever man, but never came off as annoying. The dialogue was so sharply written that I could tell the cast loved every minute of soaking up and delivering these lines. The cinematography was nothing short but beautiful and will often linger in rooms of the house which helps the audience immerse in the overall setting.
One of the tightest scripts of the year with raw humor and a satisfying mystery/comedy.
The cast is stellar, but the main stand outs for me were Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, and Chris Evans. I loved Daniel Craig’s Southern drawl which I didn’t expect at first, but I was amazed of how far he went for it. Often times it reminded me of Frank Underwood from ‘House of Cards’. He plays detective Benoit Blanc, AKA CSI: KFC. At one point during the movie he delivers one of the funniest monologues in the entire movie, which was brilliantly delivered by Craig. He should seriously try out more comedy roles.
Dose anyone remember when Ana de Armas starred in Eli Roth’s ‘Knock Knock’? Well look at her now. She was absolutely excellent in this movie. The running joke throughout the entire movie is her character can’t lie and whenever she dose, she vomits on the spot. How ironic, yet I love the comedic irony behind it.
Chris Evans plays a spoiled child with a slimy grin during the worst situations. The over privilege black sheep of the family. This is very against type for Evans, especially when his character hates dogs, which I would imagine being difficult for Evans since he’s a dog lover in real life. Also the different sweaters he wears in every scenes was impeccable.
The rest of the cast manage to shine individually in this crowded movie. Although at times some of them felt like background wall paper compared to others. However that never takes away from what else ‘Knives Out’ has to offer.
Toni Collette dose a great impression of Gwyneth Paltrow. Michael Shannon plays a wimpy son to a crime-writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). Despite the small screen time, Plummer is still charming as always. While Jamie Lee Curtis and her character brings the dramatic elements into play. She’s uninterested in the humorous quarrel during the grim situation, as early on she reminds everyone that her father just died.
Judging it as a whodunit mystery, the pay off itself is slick. The events leading to the death are revealed early into the movie, and instead Johnson remains steps ahead from the audience. There’s an underlining social commentary beneath the foul play. The themes of privilege and underprivileged with the sour taste of bitterness throughout. Nothing deep or new, but at least is trying to say something rather than being one thing.
Overall rating: My House. My Rules. My Coffee!!!
This movie was fantastic on so many levels. Prior to watching Glass Onion, I wanted to rewatch this. I really gave it the attention it deserved, and I’m so pleased that I did. The conjunction of the writing, casting, acting, character and story development, and whodunnit nature of the film was truly majestic. There’s so much that could be said about any number of these attributes, but the thing that stood out most to me in the end was the last interaction between Ana de Armas and Daniel Craig, wherein she presumes that she should help the family, regardless of their noteworthy flaws and attempts to undermine her and family. He responds by stating that while he has an opinion, and it’s quite clear that it's an unfavorably one, he presumes that she’ll follow her heart, b/c, as he had noted earlier, she was a good person.
This got me thinking about the fact that among all these people involved in this story, even though one or two of them seemed to be nice people on the surface, when push came to shove, Ms. Armas’ character was the only one who truly had any semblance of decency and kindness. And, this is somewhat a reflection of the world around us, b/c we are often surrounded by those who are only interested in their own personal gain, but if we really pay attention, there will be those who will do what’s right and just, even in the face of adverse personal consequences for themselves and those they love. I believe that it’s really important that we remember this, b/c far too often, we’re provided opportunities to do the right thing, and we ultimately fail others and ourselves. There’s definitely something to be said for those willing and able to show compassion for others, even when it means that we may fail to gain from a situation.
We must look a little closer. And when we do, we see that the doughnut hole has a hole in its center. It is not a doughnut hole, but a smaller doughnut with its own hole, and our doughnut is not holed at all!
This one was a surprise — and a really nice one. The whole movie feels like we’re watching a match of the board game “Clue”. It is always great to see these “Who did it?” movies, especially ones like Knives Out. This movie is super fun!
The script is original and it’s cleverly written. There are so many details and nuances by each character, every time you watch it again, more of these will appear. There’s also a great number of characters and even with a lot, each one has a single personality and is doing something different at some point of the movie.
Rian Johnson is not only responsible for the writing, but also for directing. During the interrogations and further on, almost every character is centralised according to the background with a huge amount of knives in a circle. Pretty cool!
The pacing is really good, the movie never gets boring and has a nice sense of intrigue and discovery all the time. The editing is great too, it’s dynamic and makes the a bit complex plot, easy to follow and at the same time the clever script is always leading you a different direction in the story from what you’re expecting. I’d say it’s impossible to guess the ending of the film, or even a part of it.
There’s a good number of plot twists. They’re nice, but for me, reaching the end they almost become too much.
The cast is fantastic! So many great actors reunited together making the amazing script even better.
This is one of those movies that you can recommend to anyone that the person will at least have fun watching it.
Incredible. Loved it!
Even on just one watch, it's one of my favourites already - I have a feeling I'll be revisiting this a lot. I had heard amazing things about this since its release and, man, is the hype befitting. It's a brilliant 131 minutes, even if it feels much shorter than that given how enjoyable it is.
The casting is impeccable. Daniel Craig is superb in the role of Blanc, I've actually found Craig a tad hit-and-miss - even with 'James Bond' - but he is utterly superb here; even with that unusual yet definitely entertaining accent.
It's by no means The Craig Show, though. Ana de Armas is excellent as Marta, she does a lot of heavy lifting in terms of making her character's situation fully believable. She's great from start-to-finish.
Michael Shannon is top notch too, I literally always find him fun to watch - from 'Boardwalk Empire' to, even, 'Kangaroo Jack'. Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield and Christopher Plummer are all fantastic too.
The plot is enthralling, it's crafted together expertly. It reveals bits way earlier than I was predicting, which made me worry it was going to all fall flat at any moment but it kept turning out to be the perfect time to twist the story. The comedy is also very funny, I laughed a fair amount.
A joy to watch! I haven't got a bad word to say about 'Knives Out'.
Knives Out is a ‘whodunnit’ in the old style very much Agatha Christie brought up-to-date. Within this we of course immediately encompass all the problems that you get with this genre. Overly complicated frankly ridiculous scenarios that stretch credibility to stretching point.
But, and it is a big but, this is what you are signing up for when you walk through the large doors of Harlan Thrombey’s country homes. A carer who is violently ill when they tell a lie, a private detective keeping the police in check and every single person in the building appearing somewhat guilty or shifty at the least.
The machinations that this takes you through points you to one or two suspects with the one the director wants you to think, on and off, as guilty being perhaps too obvious. Everyone has their motives but throughout the course of the film I could not think of any of them really being a murderer which perhaps is how director Johnson wanted it.
The cast is stellar with the painfully pretty Ana de Armas holding her own against the dominating presence of Daniel Craig, Michael Shannon and Christopher Plummer. Every ‘star’ in the film gets their set pieces and screen time and everyone seems to be acting with relish. Which considering the subject matter is what they should be doing. Jamie Lee Curtis has great fun as the acidic Linda alongside Toni Collette tearing it up as the somewhat flakey Joni, so much that perhaps Katherine Langford, Riki Lindhome and the other female cast members get a litte overshadowed. Ana de Armas gets more screen time, front and centre, and on this showing she deserves it.
Answering some of the criticism thrown at this film it should be campy, it should be fun and in many ways it should be silly. The biggest failing of the whole show would be if it was not entertaining. You have to be fair and say throughout the sneaking around, unlikely series of events, the whole was entertaining.
After checking the cast, spelling and so forth, on IMDB I did happen to glance at the ‘marks’ given to Knives Out and overall it seems to have been an average film for most people which I think is fair. It is breaking no barriers and no moulds but it is a good strong effort in the murder mystery column. What I did notice was a preponderance of 1 out 10 marks which turned out to be from people, and this is genuine, did not like seeing immigrants in a positive role and alt-right and possibly Nazi characters as possibly ‘dicks’.
This digs at the alt-right do not bother me but if they were highlighting some wishy washy liberal namby bamby as long as it was in the context of the story likewise I could not care either. It is a film. Fiction. No one will care in a month's time. It is all disposable. Some people should definitely learn to expand and be easier going in what the perceive around them. Hey-ho.
All of the acting, as you would expect, is up at a high-level with Noah Segan gurning it up and making his gormless trooper as stand out as possible.
It was all good fun.
The story rips along and good pace and keeps you guessing most of the time, I got it wrong as to the perpetrator a few times and only when Chris Evans returned midway through did it bog down slightly with seemingly shoe-horned in car-chase trying to bring in some action to the story. I did not feel it was needed but then again I am not a film director or writer.
The cinematography and overall look and feel of the film, particularly the house setting all worked and fitted into the tale perfectly.
One thing really ‘bugged’ me throughout the running time. I watched a large 4K HDR TV and all I could see during any close up with Daniel Craig and Chris Evans was the dark plum lipstick they were obviously wearing, are they lips that pale? Furthermore the eye make-up on Evans made it look like he had come back from a drag-night competition in a hurry. It did take me out of the action on more than one occasion.
All in all Knives Out is exactly what it is meant to be, a bit of a silly, fun, whodunnit and in all truthfulness it is no sillier than the spate of Nordic murder mysteries that have been popping up over the last decade or so, and they are supposed to be deadly serious.
Knives Out good people can come from South America or can then? Watch and find out.
Rian Johnson writes and directs this wickedly pointy ensemble murder mystery, which finds a large, snobby family at odds over the untimely demise of their allegedly-beloved patriarch and the impending redistribution of his wealth.
The first hour is a particularly brilliant bit of deceptive filmmaking, shifting from one unreliably-narrated flashback to the next, while the audience is left to make sense of all the lies and half-truths. Eccentric to the last, each member of this extended family has something to hide, a personal scandal or ulterior motive, and that's conveniently left out of their fond memories with the deceased. Though it's burdened with such a heavy cast, none feel extraneous or fade into the woodwork. They're each distinct and memorable, even if a few of the actors take things a bit over the top and flirt with parody. Daniel Craig might be the loudest such example, constantly over-playing his best Foghorn Leghorn accent, but he's got plenty of competition. Like a high-expense party game, most everybody has a gimmick. Some just work it a bit harder than the others.
When it's on-point, Knives Out delights in toying with perception and reality, sharing the same events from multiple, highly biased, perspectives. It falters on the home stretch, though, dropping the cloak and dagger in favor of a rather blunt, linear final act. That's disappointing, but not crippling. Even with the limp climax, this is a quirky, amusing, well-composed mystery. Just seemed like it was on the fast-track to something more.
This movie released where I live just last week and I immediately went and saw it. What can I say other than "This is a real masterpiece"? Honestly, not much.
Without spoiling anything from the plot - yes, this is a great whodunnit film with a great ensemble cast. The story and all of the characters involved are great, so basically Rian Johnson did a fantastic job with both the writing and the direction. Guess this is the kind of movies he's great at doing. The premise is so simple and painfully familiar, yet feels so fresh and innovative. There are twists and turns in every other scene and the movie does a good job at subverting your expectations in a good way. It will keep you guessing until the very end.
I mentioned the ensemble cast which was perfect overall. Of course, there are some standout performances that just shine brighter than all the others. These are Evans, Armas and Craig, It is just that their respective characters get significantly more screentime than any other character. I just loved seeing them there on screen together. They were great by themselves and together.
While all those actors were great there was one of the characters that stood out among them as well. That was Craig's Benoit Blanc. Really great work on his side as an actor and really well written detective character that every story like this needs. Some people in the audience were actually kinda surprised and irritated by the accent Craig did for Blanc but I found it pretty interesting because I've not seen Craig pull off something like this in any of his other films I have seen.
There is just one tine negative thing I have to say and that is the fact that some of the characters got a little sidelined. For one, I expected that in a movie like this all the suspects will have almost equal screentime. That was not the case and some of those people only showed up once or twice and had fairly limited lines. I Just expected to see more of them. That's it. I'm not taking any points off my score for this because it does not affect the whole of the movie that much.
In short - "Knives Out" is a wonderful film - mystery, twists and laughs. What more do you need? It will keep you engaged, entertained and guessing from start to finish.
The Five Faces of Knives Out
:heart_eyes:
The beginning of the film is difficult to forget with its quirky score, playful editing and ominous atmosphere. It perfectly captures the tone that is present throughout most of the film.
The music by Nathan Johnson is both quirky and very beautiful. It changes character all the time but fits the film perfectly.
The ensemble cast is incredible, but particular nods should be given to Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ana de Armas.
Craig gives the most interesting, and arguably the best, performance of his career. He has a sexy southern accent and his performance almost feels like a parody of Poirot, Holmes or Marple wihile still being fully serious. Even his name, Benoit Blanc, sounds like an Agatha Christie-name.
Marta the assistant is deservedly put in center of the story, without having the biggest, or even the ultimate impact to the events of the film.
Director Rian Johnson has written some funny and witty dialogue that fits the characters perfectly. The plot has many twists and turns and throws in new surprises all the time.
The broad gallery of characters works surprisingly well. All characters feel fleshed out and distinct and are perfectly captured by their respective actor.
The solution is truly surprising and very hard to fully catch beforehand, but it makes perfect sense afterwards and is totally plausible.
The script contains some sharp humor that is guaranteed to make you laugh. Some of the funniest lines are delivered by Craig and Christopher Plummer.
:smiley:
Quirky editing and camera work keep things interesting all the time. Johnson has a clear vision for his story and conveys that vision perfectly.
The film stays true to the classic whodunnit genre but feels original in its highly updated concept.
There are no real action scenes or big explosions, as the focus is put on the investigation expertly carried forward by the actors. There is a funny car chase, though.
The film stays ahead of the viewer all the time, but also lets the attentive viewer catch the killer beforehand with cleverly hidden hints. Most people will require a second viewing.
:neutral_face:
Some of the characters remain somewhat anonymous, like Fran or Jacob Thrombey. They sre overshadowed by the other characters.
:frowning2:
//
:face_vomiting:
//
The Final Face: :heart_eyes:
If I rewatch this I might bump it up to a 10 from a 9. It's an excellent mystery movie the likes of which I haven't seen in a long time. [There are words I would like to put here but which would spoiler aspects of the movie]
I can that that there were parts I didn't expect. There was some very deliberate misdirection that completely had me looking at the smoke and missing the hand to the side. There were clues I saw but didn't click in my head such as the torn sheet of paper. I saw it was torn and didn't assume anything other than it was odd it wasn't a full sheet of paper. Most of the clues I did catch were towards the end such as near the end of the film when Marta revealed that that housekeeper lived. I don't feel particularly special in catching that because the movie does a very good job of reinforcing it but I noticed that Marta didn't say anything afterwards. Like she was going to throw up but had to keep it in. This is what happened. The only bit that confused me was that on the phone she is heard saying "Thank you Doctor, that's good news", which is an odd way to respond to the death of a person
The acting was great, the color palette was fun and vibrant the writing was contemporary and filled with amusing... perceptions from different perspectives. The sort that in another movie might make people upset. The sort that in other Rian Johnson movies might make someone upset. But might get glazed over here. One thing I missed having recently watched Parasite was the blocking. Every step in Parasite feels intentional and it feels like a Bong Joon-ho thing. Snowpiercer likewise and I think The Host as well had great blocking. Every step had a purpose. Here back in western film people just move. Jamie Lee Curtis is a delight.
Review by Pradipa PRBlockedParent2019-12-27T19:05:38Z
Knives Out perhaps is not the best written movie out in this year, but surely it is one among the most entertaining.
Saying the film is predictable is not wrong, but it is missing the point. Just toward the first halves the film dropped plenty of clues toward pointing the suspect of the crime, but the point was not about "who did it", but "how and why it was done." Indeed, perhaps in the first half audience is intentionally misled to get the impression of typical murder mystery through Knives Out stylistic "who did it" fashion, but as the film goes it shows that there is more to it especially since what and who cause the murder is already revealed in the middle of the film.
If one pays attention to the details. audience have been invited to ask ourselves about the mystery of the process of the murder - on the continuously shaking legs and the barking dogs - and even the especially charming Daniel Craig asked us, almost invitingly, who really hired him and why? The twist and turn is not about the result; but the process.
And doing that, Rian Johnson is still able to slip a neat "moral of the story", with a rather bittersweet moment when the truth is finally revealed. "You're a good person who follows your heart" might be one of the most repeatedly cliche, but taking a backdrop of distrust and money in a family drama, Johnson's words spoken through Craig's character with his characteristic accent made the delivery much more impactful. The slick cinematography and excellent music directing in the whole movie supports this perfectly paced murder mystery.
There is a notable questionable holes that may push you from your suspension of disbelief, but still: a delightful Christmas story to end the year; Knives Out is one film I'd recommend to get you absorbed to its intricate details.