Knives Out just may be the most fun movie of the year – which is an odd thing to say about a murder mystery.
When popular writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead in his study the morning after his 85th birthday, it looks like a suicide except who really slits their own throat?
A pair of police officers (LaKeith Stanfield and Noah Segan) come to halfheartedly question the family at Thrombey’s estate only because the recently-New Yorker-magazine-profiled detective, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) has been hired anonymously to investigate the case. Someone obviously thinks there’s more to the story.
And, oh, is there.
The family itself is a star-studded ensemble played to perfection. Jamie Lee Curtis is the oldest daughter, married to Don Johnson, and their son, Chris Evans, is an entitled slacker who nobody can stand. Michael Shannon is Jamie Lee’s younger sibling who works with their father in their own publishing company. His son is often referred to as a Nazi, and the political banter between the family members is classic. Toni Colette is the widow of Thrombey’s other son, and, together, all the kids and grandkids add up to one big dysfunctional family.
Which makes this whodunit so much fun.
Oh, there’s also Marta (Ana de Armas), Thrombey’s loyal nurse (and a Miley Cyrus lookalike). The family claims to adore her and consider her one of their own yet no one can remember what country she actually comes from. She is as compassionate as they are self-absorbed, and more loving to the octogenarian than the members of his bloodline.
The cast is superb (Craig is a revelation, with his Southern accent and infectious enthusiasm for sleuthing), the writing is sharp and the story plays out like a page-turner. Full of unexpected twists and turns, it’s funny, clever and more fun than a game of Clue.
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