Director Rian Johnson attempts a whodunit genre, told in an Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery film that is just pure fun escapist entertainment.
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While most murder mystery films leave you hanging on who the culprit is, Knives Out takes on a slightly different turn - by revealing the murderer within an hour into the film. Right from the get-go, we know that the patriarch, Harlan (Christopher Plummer), a widely successful mystery novelist had passed away. It seems that Harlan has killed himself with a knife in his room, but to prove that his death wasn’t premeditated, a private investigator Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) was called in to investigate, along with two detectives tied to this case.
All of the family members of the Thrombey clan are called in for an investigation, taking turns to speak with the detectives on their knowledge of the family’s death. As each of them recounts their side of their story, more information surrounding the death and possible culprits start to emerge. And that’s when fingers start to point at one another, causing siblings to quarrel and argue about their father’s inheritance.
Knives Out stars some of the biggest royalty whos-who in Hollywood - each adding a layer to a quirky ensemble of misfits and miscreant - from Chris Evans’ cocky attitude to Toni Collette’s vocal fry. What makes an ensemble piece so nice to watch on the big screen is when the actors are committed to their work and this is an example where you see that the actors are committed throughout, and are all in on the joke. Perhaps because of the star power from this cast, there is a limited time for each to shine, having their close-ups in the movie, it’ll be nice to see more of these actors like Collette, Jamie Lee Curtis and even Katherine Langford.
The sharpness of the script, which includes rather impressive one-liners, is filled with sarcasm and knowing when to weave in-and-out of possibilities as each character is crossed out of the suspects' list via elimination methods. For a film like this, it is essential to have twists and turns, especially when it comes to the final reveal. For Knives Out, because the murderer has already been revealed half-way through the film, it lets audiences in on a guessing game as to what will be the eventual big twist that will satisfy moviegoers of this particular genre.
Knives Out is a flamboyant take on the murder mystery genre that doesn’t shy away from deeper and sensitive topics like immigrants, bullying and corruption. While this can be seen as the fight of the riches - aka Singapore Social - Johnson, however, puts the fun in this.
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