3 Short Paragraphs: Knives Out

2019, Rian Johnson (Looper) -- download

In a Whodunnit movie, everyone can potentially be the Bad Guy and the Detective is usually rather brilliant. The plot takes lots of twists & turns, constantly having us (the viewer) reevaluate who we believe the criminal to be. Never was this better turned on its head than in  Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express where (SPOILER!) EVERYONE is the Bad Guy, but not. Fun, but for the most part, we like whodunnits to play out exactly as expected. So then, I am not quite sure whether Johnson intended on this being a classic whodunnit, or was he looking to play with the tropes. All I know is that outside of the vast array of incredible performances, I am not sure I was as blown away by this movie as much as everyone else seemed to be.

Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer, Up), a famous crime novelist with a contentious uber-wealthy family, is found dead from apparent suicide. Given who he is, it still has to be investigated, which brings in Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, Cowboys & Aliens), famous detective. In name, and in introduction, he is the classic (i.e. brilliant) detective, as he sits in the background during interviews, tapping a key on the piano, to denote each lie told in his presence. But that's where his brilliance ends, as he doesn't even know who hired him, let alone have any brilliant insights into who might have killed Thrombey. But the constantly contradicting stories between the family members and the very suspicious behaviour of Thrombey's attending nurse Marta (Ana de Armas, Blade Runner 2049) sends him down many rabbit holes. I found myself hand waving him aside, and trying to unravel this mystery on my own, which was probably Johnson's plan all along.

Plot-wise, I didn't find anything remarkable about this movie. Its well done. But performance-wise, it is top notch. Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Chris Evans and many others keep us attentive and focused for the entire movie. Also, the house. That house! Whodunnits are often known for their locales, the places where people can be gathered to investigate or for exposition to be presented. This house out does itself, fully displaying the life of an eccentric writer of crime fiction who made a boat-load of money, allowing himself to indulge in toooons of knick knacks, momentos and odd choices at decorating. With all these solid performances, I was quite satisfied with what I saw, despite not being as enthralled as much as critics were. If anything, I am glad Johnson got something to wash the bad taste of Star Wars out of his mouth.