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Knives Out (2019)


Knives Out (2019)


7/10


Starring
Daniel Craig
Chris Evans
Ana de Armas
Jamie Lee Curtis
Michael Shannon
Christopher Plummer

Directed by Rian Johnson


Knives Out isn’t your ordinary thriller—it’s an amazing obstacle course of a movie that takes leaps and jumps to make you relish every moment spent watching it. This is Rian Johnson’s writing at its best. One thing Johnson consistently delivers in his films is this: just when you think the ending explains everything, wait—there’s a smaller doughnut hole missing. When the final piece fits, you’re left with a huge, “Say what?!”

Johnson has pulled off this feat in his previous movies, which he wrote and directed, like Looper (2012) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). With Knives Out, he not only wrote and directed but also co-produced it.

The movie features an ensemble cast and centers on the Thrombeys, a wealthy family whose fortune comes from the head of the family, Harlan Thrombey. Harlan invites his family to his mansion for his 85th birthday party. The next morning, he’s found dead by his housekeeper, apparently having slit his own throat. The police are called in, and based on their findings, all evidence points to suicide.

But then, someone hires famed private detective Benoit Blanc to investigate. The person who hired Blanc did so anonymously, which makes Blanc suspect there’s more to Harlan’s death than meets the eye. With the confidence of the detectives involved, Blanc questions the family, gets to know them, and starts piecing together the case. What seems like a straightforward suicide quickly becomes more complicated.


Things get even weirder when we see what really happened at the party through flashbacks. The movie keeps you guessing until the very end.

The cast is filled with powerful actors who deliver equally powerful performances, making it impossible not to sit back and enjoy the ride. Ana de Armas, in particular, shines in her role. She seems to be enjoying herself, even though her character is often on the verge of tears.

Knives Out was released to critical acclaim. The screenplay, direction, and acting are all top-notch. At the box office, the movie has been a huge success, earning over 220million against a 40 million budget. It received Golden Globe nominations in the Musical or Comedy categories for Best Motion Picture, Best Actor for Daniel Craig, and Best Actress for Ana de Armas.

Could this movie kick off a series starring Craig as Blanc, the P.I. who gets involved in weird cases? I don’t know, but as long as Johnson is willing to write such powerful scripts, I hope so.


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