Deliciously entertaining
KNIVES OUT
MOVE over Hercule Poirot. Now there’s Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) sitting in on the investigation of the death of a very rich man.
He was Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) the writer of enormously successful mystery novels.
The film opens with the housekeeper discovering his dead body.
His throat had been cut. It seems to be a suicide but was it?
Gathered at the party for his 85th birthday the previous evening are his daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her husband Richard (Don Johnson), with their son Ranson (Chris Evans), along with his Harlan’s son Walt (Michael Shannon) who oversees the enormously successful publishing empire established by his father.
And there’s also Harlan’s daughter, lifestyle guru Joni (Toni Collette).
But it’s Harlan’s nurse Marta (Ana de Armas) who will be the focus of attention in the aftermath.
As the cops led by Lieutenant Elliot (LaKeith Stanfield) flounder, Blanc has the nose of the true investigator.
It seems that just about everyone in the room had a reason for Harlan to die, but when it’s revealed who inherits his wealth there’s all hell to pay.
The filmmaker Rian Johnson has a history of subversive but enjoyable films, think Brick, The
Brothers Bloom and Looper, and this convoluted plot of a whodunit is a bit of a switch for him.
It’s trading in Agatha Christie territory with a great deal of enjoyment on the way.
The rather laboured southern accent of Daniel Craig is something to relish, as is the stunning beauty of leading lady Ana de Arnas.
All the actors bring a wealth of experience to give this film great credibility.
Johnson’s smart screenplay has wry digs at class, at wealth, at greed, but it’s the insouciance of the telling that is seductive.
Knives Out is a deliciously entertaining experience.