Right?
Spoiler-Free THoughts!
God, I’m proud of myself for that synopsis.
I was really looking forward to this film. As you may know, The Last Jedi was my second favorite film of 2017, in no small part because of how Rian Johnson attempted (and succeeded, in my book) to redefine what a Star Wars movie was. Because of this, I was really looking forward to seeing what he could do with the classic “whodunnit” genre. Throw in some really dynamite trailers and a generous heaping of critical praise, and I was geared up for Knives Out to be my late favorite of 2019. I’ve seen the film twice now.
Post-first viewing: It’s… good?
Post-second viewing: It’s definitely pretty good!
If that’s all you need in a movie review, feel free to resume Facebook stalking your high school crush in the adjacent tab. But for the rest of you, let’s dive in a little deeper.
Marta (Armas) is the protagonist of Knives Out. That’s something I didn’t know going in and so maybe it constitutes a SPOILER, but she’s very competent as a leading actress. She’s not given a lot of time to relax over the course of the film, and Armas jumps between grieving and panicked and confused and confident with relative ease. There are times where I could’ve done with a little more from her character, and I feel like the movie occasionally develops some “show-dont-tell-itis” in regards to her character; Benoit Blanc grows increasingly fond of telling her how amazing a person she is, but I could’ve used more evidence to prove that. But overall, Armas is solid.
Let’s talk about Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc. From the moment he ominously hits an extremely high D on Thromby’s piano, he’s an instant scene-stealer. I don’t know if stifling through a decade and a half of Bond cultivated his unnaturally strong affinity for Southern accents, but “CSI: KFC” is at the top of his game here. He’s half super-sleuth, half blundering buffoon, and it totally works. One extended monologue about donut holes stays especially fresh in my mind. The point is, Daniel Craig rules. Except when he inexplicably has his tie tucked into his shirt… that remains a mystery to me.
Briefly before the break, I oughta mention a pacing issue I had with Knives Out. The film progresses fairly quickly throughout the first-and-a-half acts, frequently relying on flashbacks to both catch us up on the characters and reveal elements of the plot. But after a massive revelation halfway through the film (see: midpoint), we get a good scene in with two central characters and then the story just… drags. With all the quirky characters having temporarily gone their separate ways, we’ve gotta rely on Marta alone, and although Armas acts her well, her character isn’t overly compelling. Plus the settings suck by comparison. So the stretch between the midpoint & the third act are a definite weak point of this film; this is ideal “bathroom break” material.
That’s all I’ve got for non-spoilers, we’re gonna get more into plot details & SPOILERS after the break! Overall, I’d recommend Knives Out, but don’t let the positive buzz drive your expectations sky high. Unlike the movie Sky High. Which fucking rules.
Spoiler Thoughts!
In the case of Knives Out, a repeat viewing freed me of my original lofty expectations, while also allowing me to clear up a few logical issues with the story, pick up on a few subtle jokes I’d previously missed, and overall just soak in the top-notch filmmaking and acting talent on display. That being said, let’s nitpick the shit outta this plot.
The big trick Johnson pulls in writing Knives Out is that we learn more or less what happened to Harlan Thromby by the time Benoit Blanc concludes his initial interrogations: Marta accidentally administered the wrong dose of medication, and Harlan, not wanting to bring her trouble or put her undocumented mother under legal scrutiny, quickly hatched a plan to cover up his death as a suicide, claiming his own life. It’s a novel plot, and props to Johnson for having the cojones to divulge so much so early into the film. The problem is, this quickly deflates most of the narrative tension, and it feels like we’re left waiting for all the supporting characters to figure out what we (and Marta) already know to be true. I guess there’s some minor stakes during the second investigation of the house in terms of “Will Marta be found out by Blanc?” but it’s not the same as classic “whodunnit” intrigue.
I did really like the introduction of Evans as Ransom Thromby; he quickly brings a lot of energy back to the story. The scene where Marta shockingly inherits all of Harlan’s assets (see: aforementioned “midpoint”) is fantastic, as is the quieter bar scene between Ransom and her that follows. I particularly enjoyed the disorienting use of shaky cam as Marta tries to escape the enraged Thromby mob after inheriting the money, before driving off with a douchily delighted Ransom: “I think this could be the best thing to happen to all of you!” But like I previously alluded to, what follows is a muddled thirty minutes of Marta, Random, and Blanc chasing leads and red herrings while the family tries to get their money back. I swear, this film borders on more of a family drama than a murder mystery for a good chunk in the middle.
The other notable problem I have with the reveal is that it’s Ransom, because of course it is! He’s the only character conspicuously absent from the first act of the film, and even though he starts to look like a decent dude for a hot minute, his name is Ransom, for Chrissakes! Sorry, my language got away from me there. And I really don’t wanna talk about the fact that one of Knives Out’s big reveals comes from a character’s dying words conflating “You did this!” with “Hugh did this!” … as in Hugh Ransom Thromby, the character’s full name. Insert eye-rolling emoji.
This film does prod at a few larger social themes, and it does so in a way that’s surprisingly not overly heavy-handed. There are some clever ideas about how immigrants and minorities are treated today, illustrated by how the wealthy Thrombys welcome Marta with open arms when it’s just in words, but they’ll turn on her in an instant when the chips are down. And in the film’s closing moments, we see the results of the Thrombys’ two-faced nature: the now-penniless Thrombys have been displaced by Marta, who looks down on them from their old balcony as she sips from the “My house… My rules… My coffee!” mug we see in the film’s opening moments. I don’t wanna get too much into the political implications of Knives Out because… well, this isn’t that kinda blog. Suffice to say, Johnson’s subtext is just overt enough without feeling too preachy.
In the end, I’m willing to give Knives Out an enthusiastic recommendation. Even though it’s not perfect, it’s a wholly original story with a great cast, a solid filmmaking team, and smart use of a moderate budget (40 mil). However, even though my opinion of this film improves slightly each day, I’m gonna stick to my gut and go with my initial, first viewing grade.
LATE WORK: I was very confused for a large stretch of my first viewing over a very minor detail. We learn that son-in-law Richard (Don Johnson) has been having an affair, and we see for a split second a laptop image of him in the car with a brunette woman in profile. I, being an absolute fucking moron, believed for an inordinate amount of time that this woman was Marta. In fact, I grew increasingly confused as to why this wasn’t coming up in the fallout of Harlan’s second will, and I took umbridge with Blanc’s assertion that Marta was such a morally incorruptible person because hey, she’s sleeping with a married dude. I eventually realized that this must not have been Marta, and while this confusion is mostly on me, I gotta lay some onus at Johnson’s feet. If you’re gonna have a brief glimpse of a non-character like that, who nonetheless is important to the plot, you better make sure that she’s visually unmistakable from your protagonist. I’m just saying, you could’ve picked a blonde. Or a redhead.
EXTRA CREDIT: The use of “Sweet Virginia” by the Rolling Stones over the closing moments + credits. I’ve been listening to the song on repeat for two weeks.
Image & Info Sources!
Knives Out poster:
m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMGUwZjliMTAtNzAxZi00MWNiLWE2NzgtZGUxMGQxZjhhNDRiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjU1Nz
U3MzE@._V1_
UX182_CR0,0,182,268_AL_.jpg
Full cast image:
cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2019/11/knives_out_KO_D10_04517_R_rgb/lead_720_405.jpg?
mod=1574801612
Daniel Craig image:
media.apnarm.net.au/media/images/2019/11/23/v3imagesbin86b33f65054ac91d6c6de35197cecc66-
836bsu6vgdp5e0nbdt2_t1880.jpg
Sky High poster: www.tvovermind.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Sky-High-750x422.jpg
Chris Evans image:
img.cinemablend.com/filter:scale/quill/a/3/8/3/3/5/a38335a2d9bb065821ade7c337d49a9c8da00a2b.jpg?mw=600
Thrombys image:
static01.nyt.com/images/2019/11/28/arts/knivesout-anatomy2/knivesout-anatomy2-videoSixteenByNine3000.jpg