"Knives Out" ★★★★

Reviewed by Max Minardi,

It's 2019, or near enough. This may come as a surprise to the casual viewer as the film Knives Out takes place, at least partially, in a mansion straight out of the early 1900's, complete with anachronistic figurines, hidden doors, and ancient studies. This mansion is the home of Harlan Thrombey; esteemed crime novelist and the wealthy patriarch of a family of black sheep played by Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Colette, and Chris Evans. On the evening of his 85th birthday, Harlan is found dead in his study, his throat slit. With the family still in close proximity after the party, Lieutenant Elliot and Trooper Wagner (Lakeith Stanfield and Noah Segan, respectively) interview the family members in hopes to close the books on an unconventional but apparent suicide. Enter Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig having a dastardly amount of fun)- a Louisiana(?) French private investigator hired anonymously to solve what he believes to be the murder of Harlan Thrombey.

Knives Out is told from many characters’ perspectives. However, one rises to the forefront. Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049) plays Marta, Harlan’s at-home nurse. By the looks of things, Marta may the only one of the bunch genuinely upset at the loss of Harlan and may also be the only one with the knowledge of what really happened on the night of his demise. Grounded by an undeniable sense of honesty (aided by an inability to lie without vomiting) Marta becomes Blanc’s go-to confidant and ally. 

Ana de Armas is wonderful here and gives a well-earned first “lead” in a film. Aside from her stealing almost all of the spotlight, getting the chance to see both Daniel Craig and Chris Evans flex some different acting muscles was SUPER refreshing. Both actors have been locked into franchise roles for more than 10 years and while they’ve both had turns acting outside of those projects (Logan Lucky, Snowpiercer), the ends of their James Bond and Captain America days are all-too-apparent in these performances. I swear I could see Evans giggle every time he said “eat shit.”

Writer/Director Rian Johnson has a tangible love for flipping genre conventions on their heads (if you haven’t seen Brick, gowatch it immediately) and it’s readily apparent here. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that about 30 minutes in, something happens in this movie that leaves the audience wondering where this film could possibly go from here. For some, it may come as an unnecessary complication to a tried and true story template but for me, it was an enticing avenue that I couldn't wait to explore. And explore it we do. What follows can be read as a thoroughly original exploration of white privilege, classism, “family values,” and greed. On the other hand, it can simply be read as an (almost) straightforward whodunnit crime comedy somewhere between Clue and an Agatha Christie novel. Either reading is valid and both are encouraged. 

This movie is necessarily steeped in its set design. At one point, a character quips that Harlan basically lived on a “Clue” board. The Thrombey Estate in the film is actually “The Ames Mansion.” It’s a 109 year old home in Easton, Massachusetts commissioned by inventor Blanche Ames. It was selected by location manager Charlie Harrington after previous work on the same site for the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters [thanks, Boston Globe]. A large portion of this film is shot in the main “library” with an actual, though unintentional, recreation of the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones at its center. The juxtaposition of this home, in all of it’s timeworn warmth and glory, paired with the sterile apathy of the Thrombey family makes for one of the most interesting set dynamics I’ve seen on the silver screen this year (barring The Last Black Man in San Francisco). 

I am extremely grateful that Knives Out exists. I wasn’t the biggest fan of The Last Jedi, (okay I didn’t like it at all) but clearly it gave Rian Johnson the studio pull to make this so I suppose I can’t really complain. Everything in this movie works. There isn't a single casting decision that I would change, the humor lands, the cinematography is smart, and if all else fails, the twists are unexpected. Despite some of the more “timely” and “2019-y” aspects of this, my prediction is that Knives Out will age quite well. Strangely enough, I found myself having similar thoughts after this movie as I did Ford v Ferrari a week ago; It’s an original idea that doesn’t need a sequel or a wealth of information required by the viewer to watch and appreciate it fully. Despite this lack of “canon,” there's depth of both character and plot created by a writer and director who clearly has a vision for how he wants to define his storytelling. I hope that Rian Johnson and other filmmakers with original ideas are given the leeway to keep making their movies and until they do, I’m off to eat a thousand donut holes.