Who would’ve thought one of the most sneaky-cool films of 2019 would also be one you can recommend to your parents? Writer-director Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” re-invigorates the mystery genre, and while its unusual smattering of comedy is a big talking point, this ain’t exactly “Clue.”
It’s ultimately a masterfully plotted, thoroughly gripping story that reveals new pieces of information right up until the old-fashioned “here’s what happened” finale. It sprinkles comedy and social commentary as spices.
A new Holmes and Watson
The film opens with a maid discovering the body of millionaire mystery novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), who has apparently slit his own throat during the night in the game room of his mansion. Johnson then tells the story through both a forward-moving narrative and flashbacks as private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, trying on a Kentucky-fried accent that fits well) learns new tidbits.
“Knives Out” (2019)
Director: Rian Johnson
Writer: Rian Johnson
Stars: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas
We also see events through the eyes of Harlan’s nurse, Marta (Ana de Armas, impressively going from a Bond girl to a shy immigrant). Blanc recruits her as the Watson to his Holmes, since she is the one person with a clear alibi.
Everyone else has a motive, which we see in flashbacks to Harlan’s 85th birthday party the night before his death. The sons, daughters, grandkids and in-laws are disgruntled with Harlan for reasons ranging from money to … well, money. Harlan declines to sell Hollywood the rights to his books. Everyone is worried about what they’ll get in his will – as well they should be, since none of them are good people.
Despite the Thrombeys’ unsavory personalities, “Knives Out” doesn’t revel in the nastiness of its characters the way the similarly themed horror piece “Ready or Not” does. While the Thrombeys are spoiled rich kids with a narrow view of the world, the tone of “Knives Out” is both light enough and mystery-focused enough that we don’t dwell on it.
Marta’s mom at one point watches “Murder, She Wrote” – humorously dubbed into Spanish – and that’s not a bad tonal parallel. Engaging turns come from Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette and Riki Lindhome, with Chris Evans making a lavish mid-film entrance.
Laughs mix with the mystery
Nor does the social commentary detract from the mystery. It’s built into the Thrombeys themselves, such as the “liberal snowflake” granddaughter (Katherine Langford’s Meg) and the “alt-right Nazi” (Jaeden Martell’s Jacob) grandson. Johnson is perhaps saying something about how privileged kids have the luxury of playing social-issue politics.
“Knives Out” flits among tones, but snaps back to our curiosity about the night of Harlan’s death. A moment between Harlan and Marta is tense and tragic, yet the film also embraces a gag wherein Marta vomits if she lies.
I also enjoyed amusing minutiae such as the fact that the house’s stairs are incredibly creaky, thus waking up light sleeper Linda (Curtis). Nathan Johnson’s quirky string score smooths out the tones; it’s sort of like what you’d hear in a farcical romp, but its Hitchcockian flavor dominates.
Rian Johnson’s resume shows him to be a jack of all trades, as he’s done everything from the indie favorite “Brick” to a Disney “Star Wars” movie, so one might think he’d move on to something totally different. But IMDB lists “Knives Out 2” as his next project. Now that’s a satisfying revelation.