Directed by:
Rian JohnsonScreenplay:
Rian JohnsonCinematography:
Steve YedlinComposer:
Nathan JohnsonCast:
Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Christopher Plummer (more)VOD (4)
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Rian Johnson writes and directs this American crime drama starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Lakeith Stanfield, Michael Shannon and Ana de Armas. To celebrate his 85th birthday, best-selling crime writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) invites his eccentric family, including his three heirs and their children, to attend a party at his mansion. The following morning, however, the patriarch is found dead in an apparent suicide. Renowned private investigator Benoit Blanc (Craig) is hired to deduce the circumstances of the writer's mysterious demise and quickly surmises there is one guilty party spinning a twisted web of intrigue for him to unravel. (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (17)
Knives Out offers cool stylization and a great ensemble cast, but the final unravelling of the mystery didn’t do much for me. On the one hand, its elements were predictable based on earlier events and, on the other hand, an important character was suspiciously sidelined. Even so, I very much enjoyed the time spent in that company and with such skilful filmmaking. I found it more entertaining than Branagh’s new (overly digitalised) Poirot.
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I have mentioned several times that I am not really fond of classic detective stories that revolve around a sophisticated criminal and an even smarter detective who doesn't need a team of colleagues, and for whom uncovering the culprit is primarily an intellectual feat. As the years go by, my aversion to the world of better people where these stories usually take place only intensifies. Such detective stories represent a stylized spectacle with stereotypical characters, typical settings, and beloved props, and in my opinion, it is too artificial and bourgeois. Therefore, I accepted my daughter's invitation to the movie theater with certain hesitation and assumed that it would be somewhat uninspiring. However, it was a pleasant surprise. Director Johnson, who is also behind the screenplay, does indeed like detective stories, but he is not afraid to play with the rules and turn the genre into a bit of a parody. Light exaggeration is omnipresent, and the cast members clearly enjoy their roles and add a dose of ironic detachment to their performances without turning the film into a blatant parody. The result should satisfy not only fans of the genre but also those who find the classic formula of detective stories somewhat cliché. The choice of Daniel Craig for the role of detective is daring because he would be more suitable for the tough American school or the opposite side of the law, but it works. In addition, the members of the wealthy family are charming in their animosity and shortcomings. Overall impression: 75%.
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At times unobtrusively and sophisticatedly funny and cynical, at times thoroughly convoluted and superbly acted. Perhaps only Daniel Craig was irritating with his crazy accent. Apparently they exploit everything that could be exploited from a murder in an opulent mansion. I reckon most of the 40 million-dollar budget went to the cast, because the visuals were very economical, sometimes too much (the car chase). A good one off, but no deal-breaker.
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A loving pastiche tribute to classic ensemble detective stories displaying contempt for film genre stereotypes and a good old detective story with everything you would expect. The movie really wants to represent all of that. And it surely does. Unfortunately, not in such a way that the individual approaches would complement each other. So each scene has a different approach. In some cases, scenes are conflict with each other. As a result, the individual approaches pull the rug from under each other´s feet and there is a problem with that. The last nails in the coffin are the film's extremely long running time and the really poor acting in the second half . Nevertheless, Blanc's excessive and absurd character has potential, and no matter how unjustified the running time is, you won't be bored.
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The trailer promised an old-school whodunit, and that's what the film is. I was very entertained until about halfway through, liking how completely but utterly everyone was lying and how Daniel Craig's character (who took me a while to get used to, at the time) accepted all the lies with a knowing smile. But somewhere in the second half it all started to get a bit scratchy, I suddenly felt like I was ahead of the investigators when I shouldn't have been, a feeling that was gradually confirmed and confirmed... until it was confirmed. I don't mind too much if the ending of a mystery doesn't shock me or at least surprise me, but I don't like it when it doesn't satisfy me at all and leaves me completely cold because it gives a terribly twisted impression. In a story by Agatha Christie or A. C. Doyle, on whose legacy Knives Out is based, this would never have happened.
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