Knives Out (2019) - Review
Rian Johnson shot to fame as the writer/director behind the controversial Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was attacked on everything from its characterisation to its political subtext, the latter of which plays a key role in Knives Out as Johnson's screenplay tears into the wealthy upper-class of the United States with an expected savagery. The characters range from the Nazi/online troll grandson (Jaeden Martell) to the slightly unhinged, limping son as played by Michael Shannon (whose walking stick becomes particularly threatening in one scene). Chris Evans is particularly delightful in a role that's about as far from playing Captain America as he could possibly get, despite still maintaining the superhero physique. Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Toni Collette and Katherine Langford make up the rest of the ensemble Thrombey family, each with their own delightfully over-the-top personalities to battle against Benoit Blanc's investigation. Lakeith Stanfield also makes for a good straight-man to Craig's eccentric detective, whilst Noah Segan gets a few good laughs as Stanfield's partner. However, the star of the show is Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera, Harlan Thrombey's nurse, whom Rian Johnson gives particular attention to across the running-time as the film's moral center.
To discuss Knives Out is to ultimately discuss Rian Johnson as a filmmaker, with the film displaying his own personal politics, and his interests in story-telling, from the eccentric sense of humour to the way he toys with the typical Christie narrative to transform it into something more interesting, more twisted and complex. If the film was played straight, it'd be easy to dismiss the film as convoluted, but even the film's darker elements are balanced with a sly wink and a nod. Johnson knows that his audience knows what they're in for here, and enjoys playing with their expectations in interesting ways, just as he did with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, albeit to less uproar from Star Wars fans I suspect. Some may find the film's sense of humour to be a little too silly, but I personally enjoyed how over-the-top the whole film was, never sacrificing the strength of the story for the jokes, but always keeping the audience laughing as they try to figure out the mystery.
It's also a gorgeous film to look at too, which Johnson's regular cinematographer Steve Yedlin providing some incredibly atmospheric shots in the Thrombey mansion, which itself is a marvel of production design - one can easily imagine Christopher Plummer plotting a murder mystery in a house as ominous as this one. Nathan Johnson's classical score delightfully builds the mood of the piece, whilst the editing is always on-point. Rian Johnson never cheats the audience, and every clue, no matter how small, pays off in interesting ways later on. Oftentimes shots are repeated, albeit slightly differently, showing each character's bias on the events that took place. Even if you do manage to guess the answers, you'll still be able to enjoy the way Johnson unravels the mystery over the course of the 130-minute running time.
Knives Out is a film that I'm almost desperate to watch again, just to be able to truly appreciate the level of detail from Rian Johnson. One-off lines of dialogue foreshadow a greater meaning later on, and the mystery is so carefully presented to the audience that the end result is completely satisfying to watch. The cast are brilliant, one can't help but laugh at Daniel Craig's "doughnut" analogy, and it's a beautifully-made film from top-to-bottom. Sure, it's not exactly subtle - far from it, in fact - but there's plenty to enjoy in Knives Out. Well worth checking out.
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