Knives Out—written and directed by Rian Johnson, who has brought us blockbusters such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Looper and The Brothers Bloom—is a movie with a powerful ending for all types of viewers.
Johnson immediately captures the attention of the audience with the shock of an immediate death. He then takes the viewer through a series of interviews with zany characters and red herrings to solve the potential murder of Harlan Thrombey, played by Christopher Plummer, who is the owner of the Thrombey mansion and a famous mystery novelist.
Detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, leads the investigation of the murder of Harlan Thrombey. Blanc has to find his way through a mysterious house full of crazy family members and devoted staff to find the truth to Harlan’s death.
Viewers are constantly alternating between laughing out loud and sitting on the edge of their seats with unwavering attention. Johnson sustains a sense of suspense through most of the movie, though viewers will never feel scared or jumpy.
The film concentrates the action at Thrombey’s mansion, while still telling a very elaborate and complex story. The old mansion provides a “Clue-like” setting that creates the perfect sense of mystery.
The presentation of each character is extremely well done. Marta Cabrera, played by Ana de Armas, a nurse and friend of Harlan, notably throws up whenever she lies. Marta’s character trait allows viewers, for the most part, to trust her character.
The detective Benoit Blanc lingers in the shadows for the first few minutes of the movie until he injects himself into the center of it all. As two other police officers question the family, Blanc sits in the back, playing every once in a while a single key from the piano to catch the family members off guard. Although he starts as a very off-putting character, the viewer grows to love him and his thick Savannah accent.
Johnson focuses on the relationship between Blanc and Marta as they try to solve the possible murder before the disappointing grandson of Harlan, played by Chris Evans, arrives for the reading of the will, and pandemonium ensues. Evans does a stand-up job of playing as Ransom Drysdale. As the outsider of the family, he befriends Marta before his true selfish intentions are revealed.
Johnson depicts a very realistic version of how a wealthy and entitled family treats its workers. Although the family members all feel that they were caretakers of—and a second family to Marta—as soon as the tables are turned, everything changes and they reveal themselves to greedy and selfish people who don’t care about her well-being at all.
Although Knives Out begins with a death, it wraps up in a very heartwarming way. As the movie ends, the viewer is left with a lot to consider about the world we live in, along with many questions about what happens after it ends.
Knives Out is a movie for all because it offers comedy, suspense and a powerful take on the societal elite.
