AT THE MOVIES

by Isy Jordan

Knives Out
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Christopher Plummer, Ana de Armas, Toni Collette, and more...

A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.

I have to admit I was very excited about this movie when it was announced. I love a good mystery and that was what was promised here. A true whodunnit in the style of Agatha Christie. How does this film measure up?

Very well.

The Thrombey family is centered around Harlan Thrombey, a murder-mystery author. When we come into the story, the beloved author has committed suicide and the police are talking to family members about the night in question, the author's 85th birthday. You immediately see the man's family is anything but honest and honorable.

Harlan's family was taking advantage of him and he was laying down the law. The son who was helping him managing his publishing business was holding him back and trying to control what he did. The daughter who is a real-estate mogul with a cheating husband. They have a trust fund playboy son who is an ass and who Harlan was cutting off, hoping he'd grow up. There's the widowed daughter-in-law whose daughter Harlan was sending to college but the mom was taking money too.

And there was Marta who was Harlan's nurse. Everyone seems to treat her well as long as she stays in her place. Her mother is an undocumented immigrant and no one in the famil knows what her country of origin is.

I really can't say anything else without giving anything away but trust me, you're never going to guess it. I'm really good at guessing plots and it baffled me.

While the reaction to Johnson's last movie Star Wars: The Last Jedi was largely divisive, he's got a real hit on his hands with this film. It's well-written, well-executed, and pays a lot of attention to detail.

The cast was phenomenal. Daniel Craig's detective, Benoit Blanc, with his outrageous old-world Southern accent stole the show every scene he was in as did Shannon and Curtis. I'd never seen Ana de Armas before but her turn as Marta was outstanding and her performance had the subtelty of a way more experienced actor. Kudos.

At just over two hours, the length was perfect. The pacing was perfect. It was over way too fast. It's rated PG-13 so the whole family can see it and they really can. As far as anything really graphic or scary, it's tame.

I'd highly recommend seeing this one in the theatre. I've been twice. Great fun holiday movie!

Isy