Alright, waited quite a while to be able to finally watch it, but it was worth the wait. I absolutely LOVED it. A winner on all fronts. Honestly, there are very very few things that can be counted as bad points here. The whole thing is very reminiscent of Murder on the Orient Express, so if you enjoyed that, you will definitely enjoy this as well.
To me, Knives Out is a thriller, filmed, scored and told as a drama. So the tone of the movie can feel quite heavy for some, but nonetheless, it is superbly engaging. I was hooked from the very first scene and was kept on edge till the very last second. Contrary to other murder mysteries or mysteries in general, this one hides nothing (or so you think) and unravels the murder very quickly. But the story is so well written that it still manages to keep you in suspense and surprise you. Hats off to the director and especially to the editing team. The pacing of the film is flaw-less! The cuts were well-timed and the use of close-ups is an irresistible invitation into this crazy story. I loved the roller-coaster feeling it brought depending on which crucial piece of info was coming to light as we watch every character deal with 1) the death itself, 2) the implications it would bring for each of them, 3) the expression of their true nature as they are progressively exposed and 4) the outsider that holds pretty much every piece of the puzzle. It is a joy to watch and magnificently entertaining.
Besides that , the movie has 2 very big things going for itself: the script and the cast. I prize good scripts and this one has a fantastic one. Every character is so different and you can see that the death of the one thing that links them all, brings about a thunderstorm of ugliness, greed and selfishness. Naturally, you need proper actors to delivers those lines and I am so happy, SO happy, that we have an all-star cast here. I think it was crucial to have this because it really does feel like a team effort to bring the complexity of the situation to life and allow the audience to feel that complexity. With that being said, the one choice with which I am not 100% on board is Daniel Craig. Now don’t get me wrong, he did a wonderful job. But it seemed a bit forced but also a bit unnatural. I think we didn’t need the accent or the backstory, and at the same time, there a few other names that could have done just as good a job. But really, it is an insignificant and biased opinion and it does not drag the movie down in any way. It was also quite nice to see Chris Evans take on a bad guy role. I’m so used to seeing him as Captain America but this was refreshing and actually a very good opportunity for him to break the typecast image. As for the others, Toni Collette, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon…well these are seasoned actors and their on-screen presence is just irreproachable. Then comes the main protagonists, Christopher Plummer as the Harlan and Ana de Armas as Marta, his caregiver, friend and nurse. Wow…What a pleasure seeing this combo. Plummer is absolutely radiant. He is as good a Harlan, as Bryan Cranston was a Heisenberg. Yes, that’s a mighty reference but he deserves it; and Ana portrayed such a range in this film I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets several more offers in the future. Marta’s guilt in the matter, juxtaposed with her kind and caring nature was so wonderful to witness. It raises so many moral questions and when the truth comes out, it is impossible not to feel for her.
What more can I say? The few twists we get along the way are unexpected, well crafted and immensely satisfying. The lack of loose ends at the end has got to please the majority and in the end, it’s safe to say everyone got what they deserved, including Marta. The ending shot by the way, is brilliant, another directorial win.
So if you want to hold the tone and pace of the movie against it, sure, but I won’t. To me, it’s more of a personal preference than an actual talking point. It would be like saying a scary movie was bad, because it was too scary. It’s very unfortunate that the competition was mad this year at the Oscars, because this could easily have been a contender and winner in multiple categories. Either way, amazing brilliant superb film.
9/10. Case closed.
Michalex Jackson
The 7th Art Adept 