Marketing people seem to think that audiences are always hungry for something new. But what if, without realizing it, they’re actually longing for something old? Writer-director Rian Johnson’s marvelous ensemble murder mystery—and comedy—Knives Out is based on one of the most timeworn conceits in the whodunit playbook: A bunch of family members and other associates gather in an old country house after a rich patriarch or dowager dies under mysterious circumstances. They may want to find out who’s responsible for the premature death of their loved one—but generally they’re more curious to find out how much they stand to gain monetarily from the death of said loved one.
That’s the basic plot of Knives Out, approximately as modern as the novels that Agatha Christie began writing roughly 100 years ago and continued to produce almost until her death, in 1976. But Johnson has taken the essential formula and made it his own. The picture is a delight, but even if it offers some nostalgic pleasures, it’s also attuned to all the worries and, worse, the thoughtlessness that characterize the modern world.
Crabby but sensible old codger Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) has amassed a fortune from his career as a prolific writer of mysteries. Then, on the morning after his 85th birthday, he’s found dead, apparently by his own hand. The last person to see him alive was the woman hired to care for him, a nurse named Marta (Ana de Armas), a Latina immigrant whose family depends on her job. Harlan had always adored Marta, and those in his immediate orbit claim to love her too: His daughter, crisp-mannered businesswoman Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) and son, earnest but hapless Walt (Michael Shannon), sing her praises. Joni (Toni Collette), a somewhat shallow lifestyle guru who’s the widow of another son, also heartily approves.
Everybody loudly proclaims how great Marta is, though it’s questionable whether any of them have even gotten to know her. Then the police (played by LaKeith Stanfield and Noah Segan) show up to begin questioning the family. A celebrity detective with a buttery Southern drawl and the delectable name of Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig, clearly having a blast) has also been brought in to oversee the proceedings. He watches wryly as the extended family—including Linda’s silky-slimy husband Richard (Don Johnson) and Harlan’s spoiled grandkid Ransom (Chris Evans)—spin their own narrative of the night’s events, tilting suspicion heavily toward Marta.
The plot of Knives Out is enjoyably, wackily serpentine. Even if you’ve already guessed who hasn’t dunnit, it won’t be easy to figure out who has. The movie’s pleasures lie in the way these characters, each of them well-defined, square off against one another even when they’re pretending to be on the same side. Knives Out is filled with deceit, greed, blackmail, overall unpleasantness—and it’s funny. One character, upon being introduced to Mr. Blanc, blurts out, “I read a Tweet about a New Yorker article about you!” There’s more wit here than in most of Johnson’s movies, although it’s worth noting that his last picture, the 2017Star Wars: Episode VIII—The Last Jedi, was the best of the recent Star Wars movies, a franchise picture that felt as if it were made by a human being, not a committee.
- Directed by Rian Johnson. With Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis. A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.
- The filmmaker's 2019 murder mystery Knives Out might be that year's most rewatchable film, a jam-packed ride of smart entertainment full of perfect actors performing a perfect script lensed.
- Nov 27, 2019 While the star-studded cast alone might be enough to draw audiences into theaters for Knives Out (opening Nov. 27), the mystery at its center is what's keeping them in their seats, if early.
Knives Out also shows the human touch: The ensemble cast is terrific—these actors make it look as if the movie were a lark to make. De Armas, who was surprisingly memorable as a hologram-wife in Denis Villeneuve’sBlade Runner 2049, brings sharply focused subtlety to her role here. In a movie filled with intentionally and often comically broad characters, she’s playing a person, not a type. Marta doesn’t radiate virtuousness as a character trait; kindness just finds its way out as she moves and breathes.
Knives Out is a 2019 American mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Johnson and Ram Bergman.It follows a master detective investigating the death of the patriarch of a wealthy, dysfunctional family.
As entertaining as Knives Out is, there’s a lot rippling beneath the surface. One of its ideas is that immigrants, people who have chosen to live in America and have had to make sacrifices to do so, often make better Americans than people who were born here. And for all its clever, delightful trickiness, Knives Out is completely straightforward about one thing: It shows the utmost respect for science and for people who know what they’re doing. This is a movie in which expertise and good sense win the day; no one is rewarded for stupidity or cruelty. And in that sense, Knives Out isn’t just a beautifully made diversion. It’s also a utopian vision.
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While the star-studded cast alone might be enough to draw audiences into theaters for Knives Out (opening Nov. 27), the mystery at its center is what's keeping them in their seats, if early reviews are anything to go by. At its core, it's a 'whodunit' mystery, with a veritable mansion full of people trying to figure out who murdered a famous novelist. It's a premise that sounds like it was pulled right from any murder mystery novel, but Knives Out isn't actually based on a specific book. The story just feels incredibly familiar, and it owes that familiarity to some classic mystery literature and a certain cult film.
Like any good murder mystery, it's probably best to go into Knives Out completely blind. That way, the twists and turns that are the bread and butter of the mystery genre can feel all the more surprising and suspenseful. But just in case that's not how you operate, here's a little more context: In Knives Out, famous novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) invites his family to join him in his mansion for his 85th birthday party. But the morning after the party, they find Harlan dead. It falls to famous detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to sort through each family member's possible motives for murdering Harlan and figure out who might have killed him.
If that premise sounds familiar, it's because it should. In a chat with Variety, director Rian Johnson cited his love of a specific author's work when developing Knives Out. 'I grew up reading Agatha Christie’s books,' he said. 'I wanted to make a whodunit for forever. Ten years ago, I had a very basic idea for this and have just had it cooking ever since.' Christie, a famous mystery novel author who published 66 mystery novels between 1920 and 1976, was the creator of Hercule Poirot, a fictional Belgian police detective who, in the vein of Sherlock Holmes, was said to be 'one of the greatest detectives of all time.' As mentioned in the trailer, detective Benoit Blanc carries a similar reputation, and the circumstances surrounding his investigations carry thematic similarities to Poirot's. As Johnson told Empire Magazine, 'Benoit Blanc has some of the elements of Poirot, in that he’s a bit self-inflated, but there’s a warmth to him which shines through with Daniel [Craig].'
Knives Out Actress
But the similarities to other beloved mysteries don't stop at Christie. The film has drawn comparisons to 1985's Clue, which was a cult classic murder mystery parody based on the board game. There, in similar fashion, a group of six people (albeit strangers, not family) are invited to a mansion for dinner. But after the host turns up dead, it's up to them to find out who the killer is before they strike again. Clue has more of a parodic, comedic tone, which contrasts with Knives Out, as Johnson notes in a chat with Vulture. 'I had to make very clear to everybody that we’re not doing Clue,' he said. 'It’s not an arch parody. It’s going to be fun and it’s going to be funny, but the goal here is to do something that has the actual pleasures of the genre.' Judging by early reviews of Knives Out, it seems he's succeeded.