Rian Johnson’s murder mystery, through its modernity in the use of language and countless twists, will make your head spin, but that big reveal, may not live up to its build-up.
“This is something dad would write, not do. I am waiting for the big reveal, where it will all make sense”
In one of the scenes, Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis), the eldest daughter of the recently deceased Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), says that she doesn’t believe the state that they’re in right now and it seemed like a chapter from one of her father’s many crime novels, and not reality. This is the level of inquisitiveness that Johnson takes us through within the movie that one will not agree to what is happening on screen and form their own assumptions, like the detectives they are.
A snarky tale between cat and mouse, inspired by a plethora of Agatha Christie novels, Knives Out takes a modern take on the whodunit murder mystery genre. Harlan Thrombey is a wealthy crime novelist, who reunites with his entire family for his 85th birthday celebration. His ‘self-made’ family has hostility for each other but Harlan thinks that his decisions will set them straight. Turns out, the birthday celebration ends with the house becoming a crime scene when his house help finds him dead the following morning.
Put an old wealthy man at the centre of your plot, a dysfunctional family around and motives of revenge, greed, spite or all of the above. This is the basic crime thriller template that most filmmakers follow. However, Johnson takes it a few steps further. Johnson sees an opportunity to use the framework of a rich, white family under suspicion as a way to examine what happens when privilege comes under threat. It’s refreshing to see a murder mystery actually set in the present day, considering the history of the genre.
Knives Out introduces the Thrombeys through the eyes of three people: local detective lieutenant Elliot (Lakeith Stanfield); charismatic private investigator Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig); and Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), Harlan’s private nurse. These three try to make sense and fill the “hole in the donut” within the family’s internal quarrels.
The meticulous planning shows from the opening scene itself which is a static slow motion shot of the mansion, that feels like nothing less than a trap in itself, which adds on beautifully for the narrative puzzle Johnson throws us into. Not just from the inside, but the positioning of this mansion in isolation also adds to the drama by providing eeriness to the crime narrative.
Johnson understands that one of the pleasures of mystery stories is how they turn viewers into detectives, who go through clues with a microscope, true or not. Johnson scatters enough hints to keep you busy guessing as characters enter and exit amid abrupt cuts and flashbacks. In one of the flashback scenes, Harlan uses his research and theatrics of being a crime novelist is actually defying a logical plan, adding onto it by saying, “say the same in scattered bits.” This mystery within a mystery is just a joy to watch and the writing lives up to the mark.
Johnson isn’t content with the plot playing in a certain predictable way, and hence he tries to throw it off its head when one least expects it, which however though also leads to an end which doesn’t deliver on the hype it creates through the entire film. With stellar dialogues, full of modernity and curiosity, the entire film builds to the end with terms like “big reveal” and dialogues like, “Hole in the donut” but all it manages to do, is fill up that hole of the donut, with a smaller donut of the size of that hole, somehow not satisfying the end completely.
An ensemble of cast carries out this meticulous design with utmost conviction. Daniel Craig plays Benoit Blanc, a snarky detective with a southern accent like that of Kevin Spacey. He has his flaws but sees things that we don’t and that makes us love him the way we do. Chris Evans, who we are used to seeing in the MCU as Captain America, saviour of the day, leader of the pack, changes things up by playing Hugh ‘Ransom’ Drysdale, the rebellious runt of the family. Evan’s composure, swag and calm adds the layers to his physical attributes, that cover up for the depth in his character. Ana de Armas, plays Marta Cabrera, an illegal immigrant, a nurse and best friend to Harlan Thrombey. She finds herself in the centre of the events but kindness and industriousness her character pulls off just brings a smile on our faces by the time the end rolls in.
All in all, Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, that debut at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, will catch most audience, trying to solve the murder-mystery, off-guard with its witty lines, stellar cast and a score so immersive, that it makes up for one of the best films of the year.
