Knives Out (2019)

For the first time in about 11 months, I watched what my dad chose to rent. It just so happened to be the last item on my own Netflix queue, whether I had added it most recently or simply moved more recent additions higher up. I could not tell from advertising whether there was anything innovative about the plot or it was simply another facetious whodunit, but its popularity told me to try it.

The morning after his 85th birthday, Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), multimillionaire crime novelist and publishing company owner, is found bled out next to a knife in his Massachusetts home. The police are inclined to call it an open-and-shut case of suicide, but at least a few of the many people who'd recently seen him doubt it very much. So does Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), if only because an anonymous source hired him to investigate. The motive for killing a rich old man would be obvious....

To call this a whodunit is actually misleading. While the poster shows six of Harlan's relatives plus his nurse, Marta (Ana de Armas), they're not all suspected equally if at all. Furthermore, at the start of the second act, the audience is privy to a Marta flashback with a large amount of information that Blanc doesn't receive for some time, leading me to expect a Columbo-style story of the detective gradually catching up. Still, it doesn't explain everything, so your curiosity shouldn't be quenched already.

Harlan aside, the Thrombey family, including in-laws, is pretty wretched, leading to a good chunk of the humor. Some of the actors I'd never seen in such roles: Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson...even Chris Evans, finally shedding the Captain America costume. (Other familiar names include Lakeith Stanfield as a police detective, Frank Oz as an estate attorney, and M. Emmet Walsh as a groundskeeper.) It almost seems a waste that they don't get nearly as much attention as Marta, whom Harlan understandably favored over his flesh and blood. Nor are we nearly as surprised as the characters at the will reading.

Blanc is a bit of a character himself. Judging from his thick drawl (has Craig gotten any better at U.S. accents since Lara Croft: Tomb Raider?) and French pronunciation of his name, he hails from Louisiana. He doesn't mind doing creepy/obnoxious things such as smoking cigars close to people, tapping high piano keys, and sitting in dark shadows while talking to people. Nevertheless, he is ultimately a good judge of character, and I am impressed at his detective skills.

There is a slight political undercurrent. The wretches, not being all alike, have a heated argument on immigration and ham-handedly draw Marta into it, unaware that her mother is not in the country legally. For that reason, she is reluctant to deal squarely with the authorities. Whatever your own view of the issue, it's easy enough to sympathize with her and disdain the Thrombeys' treatment of her.

Another thing to know about Marta is that she's prone to nausea upon lying. Man, sometimes I think there's a rule that new Hollywood comedy flicks must include a woman barfing on someone on screen. At least this time it has a bearing on the plot.

One element that's common in mysteries is interesting scenery. The mansion has no shortage of accessories, the most noticeable being a knife arrangement reminiscent of the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. I only wish I understood all the intended symbolism. The go board represents strategy, but why the repeated focus on a baseball?

KO may be a tribute to Agatha Christie in part, but it really is in a class by itself. I can't think of another story quite like it. Congratulations, director Rian Johnson; you have more range than I knew. I'd watch another work of yours from any of this set of genres. Hope KO2 lives up to its predecessor.