Knives out poster - movie review blog - maldeegan.com/blog
“A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.”
***WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD ***
Renowned novelist Harlon Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead in his estate after his 85th birthday party. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) a famous private detective is mysteriously hired to investigate the murder. Interviewing Thrombey’s kooky family one by one he is drawn into a whodunit where there are multiple suspects.
That last part is where I had the biggest problem with ‘Knives out’ - the ‘whodunit’ aspect - it’s pretty clear early on what happened in the ‘murder’. In fact the reveal is shown fairly early so you are essentially there to view how it all comes together. It’s whether you find this compelling or not will ultimately determine your enjoyment of the movie.
Marta (Ana de Armas) is a nurse who is taking care of Harlon, during one of their nightly routines Marta administers a mega dose of Morphine accidentally to Harlon. In her ensuing panic Harlon concocts a convoluted plan to try to save her from being a suspect. As a final act he slits his own throat before the morphine can take hold. Marta, now free from suspicion, is unwittingly roped into being Benoit Blanc’s sidekick as he investigates the murder. In the process she must try to hide herself as a suspect to protect her immigrant mother from deportation.
Ensemble pieces are notoriously difficult to get right ensuring every player gets his or her portion of run time. In this regard ‘Knives out’ fails. Personally, I felt a few of the players were criminally underused. Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Johnson we’re given short shrift - never really considered suspects - only there to play out an infidelity side plot that really doesn’t go anywhere. Michael Shannon (Walt Thromby) Changes character on a whim to suit a plot device and make him seem more evil than he actually is. The other side characters we don’t really know or care about including the actual ‘real’ detectives investigating the murder itself.
As soon as Ransom (Chris Evens) appears on screen you know he is the murderer. Maybe it was the way he decided to play his character or perhaps the fact that the kooky grandmother whispers ‘Ransom you’re back again’ during the night of the murder was a bit of a giveaway. It is also pretty obvious that vials of morphine had been switched out from the get go. So it essentially becomes more about ‘why’ than ‘who’.
That is answered when we learn that Marta has been given all of Harlon’s fortune including the family estate. The family an unlikable bunch of self aggrandising misfits attuned to their own self importance. Wealth and prestige their undoing, they plot to have the will overturned by any means necessary.
At 2 hours 10 minutes Knives out is a little on the long side. Not really a ‘whodunit’ more a play on a Poirot mystery where the mystery part is somewhat jettisoned in favour of mildly entertaining romp with eccentric characters. Mention must be given to Danial Craig (Benuit Blanc) who uses an over the top southern accent that quickly becomes irritating to the point where it takes you out of the movie.
Since the movie is billed as a ‘whodunit’, I personally think it failed on that score. Plot contrivances used then forgotten: Dogs barking for only one person, noisy staircase, Granny with dementia, Marta’s ability to feel viscosity of morphine etc etc
Not that I hated the movie, I didn’t. It’s what I would term a Sunday afternoon picture: easily forgettable and just there to pass the time. It had potential to be interesting but in the end it was decidedly ‘Meh’.
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