So after I wrote my earlier review about Knives Out complete with spoilers, I realised…. if someone hasn’t watched it, they won’t read the review, and if someone has already watch it, why would they read the review?
The purpose of my writing these movie reviews is to needlessly flaunt my opinions (duh) and also to share recommendations on what to watch or not watch.
So… here is my spoiler-free review of Knives Out!
Movie details about Knives Out
Released in 2019, this murder mystery movie boasts a star-studded cast with Daniel Craig playing one of the lead roles, shedding his suave 007 agent persona in exchange for a rough Southern drawl.
There are many familiar faces in this fast-paced countryside murder story, so even if you don’t know the Hollywood inhabitants like the back of your hand, you’ll be bound to go, “Hey! That person looks familiar!”
The more famous of the faces include Chris Evans, Christopher Plummer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Toni Colette and Riki Lindhome, among many others; but the one who really steals the limelight is the main star, Ana de Armas.
With an incredibly fresh rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes (at time of writing), you know that there must be more to this movie than just a lot of pretty faces.
All out for Knives Out
The movie starts off with the usual murder trope – a rich old man dies under suspicious circumstances, and loads of family members have been supposedly cut out from his will. In this case, his death has been ruled as suicide and there is no reason to suspect foul play… except for the presence of a private detective, Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, who was hired so anonymously that even he didn’t know who his client was.
Very early on in the movie, the audiences are shown how Harlan Thrombey (played by the inimitable Christopher Plummer), the patriarch and family cash cow died. His nurse, Marta Cabrera (played by Ana de Armas) was reluctantly dragged along by Blanc as he goes all over the grounds, trying to get to the bottom of the case.
So, now that you know what has happened, you would assume that the movie is just about Blanc’s investigative process and the killer’s attempt to cover up, right?
Obviously not – what kind of movie wouldn’t have twists and surprises?
Of course, a twist one would love to see would be the two hotties Craig and Evans baring their biceps, but this is a respectable movie, so there are unfortunately there are no scenes with anyone even with their coat off, much less of 6 packs on display.
In spite of that though, the movie is still a really good watch. It moves along at a pace that can be followed fairly easily. It is not too snooty that it tries makes the audience feel that they’re not smart enough to follow, and not too dumbed down that it insults the intelligence of the viewers.
A lot of the questions that I have in the back of my head when watching this show was also addressed as Blanc reveals what he deduces in the end. The hole in the doughnuts were mostly filled (that was the analogy used, as opposed to the usual “jigsaw puzzle” analogy); but of course there were some plot holes. But as with all movies with plot holes, they address it by simply not addressing it.
All in all, a good watch. The acting is superb; the actors really embrace their characters, and do not attempt to hog the scene more than they should.
Even if you kind of figured out the whodunnit, it is still interesting to watch how things unfold at the end.
Highly recommended!
Knives Out is currently streaming on Netflix.
