Knives Out

With a fantastic cast that feeds off each other’s energy, Rian Johnson’s creativity comes alive and brings new thrills to the murder mystery genre. This film proves that Rian Johnson’s skill works best with his own stand-alone stories, not Star Wars.

The characters really shine in this film because of the all star cast. How each actor plays against their previous roles brings so much life into their scenes, making the audience that much more committed to see what happens. Daniel Craig as a New-Orleans-Southern detective against Toni Collette’s spiritual cluelessness was both hilarious and surprising—the last Toni Collette film I watched was the horror film Hereditary. Jamie Lee Curtis is no longer the victim like in her Halloween series, she is the cold manipulator that sees everything as below her, while Chris Evans plays her character’s son, who is a spoiled brat rather than a humble superhero. All of these loud and crazy characters really bring out the comedy and humor, but it is Ana De Armas’ character, Marta, that gives the human core to the story. Her performance is fantastic, and she balances drama and comedy really well with Marta’s strange quirks. The serious moments of the story at stake all come from her character arc, and the story cleverly weaves humor within her struggle to let the other characters run wild. Ana De Armas has the least amount of star power in the cast, but being the central protagonist gives her the perfect amount of screentime to prove herself as an equal to these celebrities.

The energy this film brings revives the joy in mystery novels. Its story is fully original, meaning everyone watching will have the same information for each revelation. No book adaptations, no remakes, and no board games beforehand feeding the script plot points. I watched it with my family and we had multiple predictions throughout, and all of them were wrong. We never saw where the film was going, and that thrill makes it such a blast to watch. The little hints sprinkled throughout could lead to multiple endings, so when they finally fall into place we still are hanging off the edge of our seats to see which possibility is unveiled—and the scene where that unveiling happens is the pinnacle of this film. Everything is focused into that one moment and it all works cohesively. The music and sets call back to the film Clue, and the book titles combine Agatha Christie with Stephen King in a comedic yet realistic way, to the point where even though the developing events are over the top dramatic, it somehow feels real. This film not only diverts from the path to tell its own story, but it tells it in the same language as the stories beforehand to give a perfect homage.

The mansion expands on the heightened sense of fiction and mystery, as it was designed by the murdered mystery-novel writer. The artifacts found in each room and on the acres of surrounding woods allude to the books the victim had written, giving the chance to have secret corridors and props in the story. What I found lacking, though, was the attention of this setting. The potential of the mansion is barely utilized, with many scenes having the characters leave the house on car chases. I wanted the film to be more claustrophobic within the mansion. Although, I did not mind the scenes off the property, and I could see how tedious and redundant the limited sets might become if the characters could only stay within the walls. Even with its limited, background performance, so much of the mansion is expanded on that I could feel it as its own character. I just wished it could have the same spotlight as the others.

Overall, Knives Out is a hilarious and gripping story with great characters realized by the unforgettable cast. Daniel Craig takes the spotlight while Ana De Armas proves to the world what she can do on her own. Rian Johnson has gone from the most hated director of all time—to a certain population of movie-goers—to a genius behind the camera. He knows what he is doing, but I can tell he only likes to work with himself. His blood, sweat, and tears fill the canvas of this film, and the best part is, he did it only for his love of making films—that is what makes it so special. He is not a team player, but whenever you see a stand alone, original film with the name Rian Johnson, you will know that it is worth the price of admission.

Story Rating: 9/10

Character Rating: 8/10