Rian Johnson Puts His Own Spin On The Murder Mystery With The Delightfully Subversive Knives Out
Suffice it to say, good murder mysteries aren’t made as often as they used to be. Rarely do we have a good old-fashioned “whodunit” to have us guessing to the very end. For whatever reason, perhaps the audience became too sophisticated, television mystery shows became ubiquitous, or filmmakers got tired of trying to improve on the classics, films like this have just been in short supply for some time. But that scarcity is admittedly a big part of the excitement for Rian Johnson’s Knives Out. The director made a name for himself with the high school crime noir drama Brick, and it’s fair to say that a number of fans have been waiting for him to return to the mystery genre in some capacity.
When famous author and family patriarch, Harlan Thrombey, is found dead the day after his 85th birthday party, the initial determination of suicide is almost immediately disregarded in favor of a more nefarious theory . . . that he had actually been murdered. And as the reading of his will approaches, it starts becoming clear to the celebrity detective hired to investigate Harlan’s death, that the Thrombey family has no shortage of members who may have wanted to end the old man’s life.
The brilliance of Knives Out is the realization that the death of Harlan Thrombey was just a red herring, and there is so much more to the film than a standard murder mystery. With every new character we meet, and with every perspective given on the events of Harlan’s birthday party, there is a delightful subversion of the genre that Johnson is orchestrating, to examine and explore privilege and classism in a rather clever manner. This is illustrated quite soberingly with how the Thrombey family views Harlan’s caretaker, Marta Cabrera. They can’t speak highly enough of her, even likening her to family, but dammit if any of them can remember what country she is actually from. As the film progresses, we realize how the family truly views Marta is all a matter of perspective and convenience, and plays heavily into the mystery of Harlan’s death and the aftermath. Through various flashbacks and revelations, we also learn a great deal about Harlan himself, and how he views certain members of his family.
Even as a straightforward whodunit, Knives Out is so intricate in its plotting and structure that it demands repeat viewing. There are so many details that are cleverly sprinkled throughout the film, and even the most trivial elements only serve to strengthen the overall story as it unravels. All the standard tropes of the genre are on display, and the film does a masterful job of keeping audiences guessing, even when they shouldn’t have to. We’re already conditioned to expect the unexpected, and it’s amazing how effortlessly Johnson manages to skate the edge between laziness and subversion in such a way as to be ultimately satisfying.
In terms of the cast, Knives Out, hands down, sports one of, if not, the best ensemble I’ve seen all year. There is not a single weak performance in the bunch, and in a film like this, EVERY CHARACTER is important, and everyone has their moment to shine. Christopher Plummer thankfully gets a healthy chunk onscreen time as Harlan Thrombey via flashbacks and accounts of his birthday party as told by other characters. The man is an indisputable legend and imbues Harlan with all the warmth and sternness one might expect, but there are also moments of wit and charm that make him feel three dimensional. We have to care that this character has been killed, and Plummer gives audiences the full measure so that there is no doubt that this character is important. Jamie Lee Curtis is as reliable as she always has been playing Harlan’s oldest daughter Linda. She is something of a pragmatist, but she naturally lets her emotions get the better of her as the film progresses. Playing her younger brother Walt, it’s difficult to imagine anyone else in the role besides Michael Shannon. Seemingly annoyed by everyone and sporting a leg boot and cane, this visual representation of his character almost feels like a deliberate parallel to his development, hobbled and supported simultaneously by his family, and proving himself to be rather indecisive in most situations. Even characters that feel more like caricatures, namely Toni Collette’s Joni and Jaeden Martell’s Jacob, work perfectly as their presence never overtakes the more grounded elements of the film, and are deliberately meant to contrast one another; Joni being the ultra-liberal with delusions of being a health and wellness influencer, who married into the family, and Jacob being an Alt-right wannabe who would be voted most likely to commit a hate crime before graduating college. However, the crown jewel in the Thrombey family cast is without a doubt Chris Evans as Ransom. Every frame of footage he appears in just screams, “Thank God I don’t have to playCaptain America anymore!” and I 100% was here for it. As the black sheep of the Thrombey family, Ransom is the poster boy for douchey trust fund babies, and Evans blissfully brings this character to life with sarcasm, vulgarity, and snark. I will happily count myself among those who prefer Chris Evans playing entitled douchebags in movies over him playing Captain America!
Even with all these heavy hitters populating the cast, it is paramount to acknowledge that Knives Out would be a decidedly different film without Ana De Armas and Daniel Craig. De Armas in particular is the heart and soul driving much of the story in the film, as Harlan’s caretaker Marta. She is a character grief-stricken over the loss of a man she saw not only as a client, but as a friend, and for her to be thrust into this situation is understandably forcing her to experience a wide range of emotions that De Armas is exceptional at pulling off. There is even an undercurrent of humor to her performance, when something most folks do without even thinking about, proves to be something Marta can’t do without having a rather severe physiological response. As the southern detective hired to investigate Harlan’s death, Benoit Blanc, Daniel Craig makes two things painfully clear: He needs to play more roles as a southerner in comedy-tinged crime films, and we need to see the further adventures of Benoit Blanc (yes, I am fully aware that both of those things could, in theory, count as one!). Playing the character like a country-fried Poirot, Craig beautifully straddles the line between being the smartest person in the room and being delightfully clueless, making it one of my favorite performances of his that he has ever put to film. He speaks in sprawling monologues, much to the chagrin of LaKeith Standsfield’s Lieutenant Elliot initially, although their interactions become far more affable over the course of the film.
From start to finish, Knives Out is the kind of delightful deconstruction of wealth and status that we could definitely stand to see more of. With a dense, tightly-woven plot and a socially-relevant message, the film is as entertaining as it is an important learning experience, though it balances this with a variety of clever plot twists, and farcical, Clue-inspired witty dialogue and theatrics. Rian Johnson could not have cast the film more perfectly, and everyone brings their A+ game, selling the story in every scene. As 2019 draws to a close, Knives Out proves itself to be one of the best films this year has had to offer.
5 out of 5
