This film is a 12A, was released on November 27th 2019, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS
I meant to publish this review a while ago but forgot to because of stuff. Sorry!
Introduction
I. LOVE. WHODUNNITS. Not only are they usually really entertaining, but I like how they have you, the audience, actively guessing and theorising throughout the course of the runtime. Entertainment that I get more out of than just a good time is really engaging, even though I'm perfectly content with the latter. However, the genre has sort of gone dormant in recent years. We had Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express in 2017, as well as his Death on the Nile on the way, but there's not been a good old-fashioned whodunnit in some time.
Thoughts Going In
Just looking at the poster for Knives Out made me want to see it, and this desire was only made stronger by the excellent reviews as well as Daniel Craig's silly accent in the trailers. So, I was keen for something that'd be fun, engaging, and just a great movie all-round.
The Story
On the morning after his 85th birthday, Harlan Thrombrey is mysteriously found dead. With many family members who attended, all with different motives linked to Harlan, ace-detective Benoit Blanc is brought in to deduce who did what.
What I Liked
I'm just going to make it clear that I absolutely loved this film, and here's why:
The writing here is just phenomenal. This is easily one of the best, most meticulously written mysteries I've ever seen in a film. There are so many aspects to this mystery and seeing it all get pieced together is just a joy. As I said, I love 'playing along' with these types of films, and trying to solve the puzzles alongside the people in the film. This was a ton of fun. All the known pieces of information are delivered in fragments, and at a steady rate. By the time the film explains exactly what happened, it feels like a satisfying and oddly funny culmination of everything that was set up from the very beginning. You sit there smiling and laughing as it all comes together. Also, the pieces of the puzzle aren't just the things that the characters say when being questioned or things the detectives discuss, so many minor things that you barely think twice about act as vital to the end result. If you do see this, try to remember every line that is said, even the seemingly insignificant ones - it may just be the key to everything! I wasn't actively doing this, but it was funny at the end when certain things I could recall but didn't really care about became extremely important. So, the writing kept me engaged and entertained.
The characters help to enhance the film's great story, and the performances were a big part of that. Of course, my favourite was Daniel Craig. Not only was he simultaneously doing the best and worst Southern USA accent, but he was also effortlessly charming and charismatic in his delivery. I could honestly watch this performance alone for two hours and be satisfied. The other stand-out was Ana de Armas. Her role in the film was larger than I expected which made me happy, as she is very talented and I hadn't seen her in much up until this point, the only thing coming to mind being Blade Runner 2049, where she didn't have an awful lot to do, even though she was in my favourite scene. Everyone else such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette and Christopher Plummer were as brilliant as you'd expect, but I'd also like to mention how nice it was to see Chris Evans doing something excellent that wasn't a Marvel movie. I should address the fact that this film is hilarious, despite not being an alleged comedy. These actors sure know how to deliver this dialogue in the funniest ways possible.
To keep it brief, essentially everything else in this film was top notch. The cinematography was great, rarely was there a shot that ever felt uninteresting or lifeless. The set design was terrific, setting the scene and atmosphere appropriately. The score was wonderful and incorporated many traditional mystery-Esque sounds such as high-pitched violins which kept the film exciting. The colour palette was always interesting with each scene feeling distinct from each other and having their own moods. I just don't think there is a single creative aspect that was lacking in the slightest, everything was just marvellous.
What I Didn't Like
The only teeny-tiny problem I have with this movie is, you guessed it, some pacing issues. I know, it's typical for me to point at this as a flaw in a movie, but it is certainly more to do with me having quite a short attention span. Basically, there's roughly a 10-20 minute chunk of this film that was slightly less interesting than the rest. It wasn't bad, okay or even just good in the slightest, it was still great but it began to deal with aspects of the mystery that I didn't find as engaging nor as coherent. Luckily, it gets back on its feet smoothly, but that's just a tiny nitpick from me.
Conclusion
What more is there to be said about Knives Out? It's just fabulous. This film just gets everything right and manages to be a prime whodunnit as well as wildly funny, effortlessly charming and extremely engaging. Aside from a slightly less interesting section, this is one of the best films of the year, and something I doubt I will ever get bored of even after 100 viewings. It's masterful filmmaking, just go and see it for yourself. And remember, when you know what happens, keep it quiet!
I'm going to give Knives Out a 9.5/10
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