Knives Out - A Sharp, Clever Murder Mystery
Like many Americans, last week I celebrated Thanksgiving with my family - my mom specifically. And before cooking on Thursday, we decided, at my excitable suggestion, to go to the movies and watch the wry, clever mystery film Knives Out. I don’t do many movie reviews here because I honestly don’t watch that many movies. It’s not my preferred medium of entertainment.
But Knives Out is not just the rare movie that I really wanted to see in theaters, but it’s one I actually want to see in theaters again. I do want to caution against over expectations though. This movie got such great reviews, and I was so excited to see that I ended up with somewhat unrealistic expectations (also a misconception of what the movie would be). That caveat said, this movie is so much fun and 100% worth seeing in theaters. Possibly even twice.
This Really is a Mystery Movie
It is important to note that this film isn’t actually a comedy, nor is it camp. It’s an actual murder mystery/whodunit, with all the tension therein. It’s a very funny mystery, particularly in a dry sort of way, but at the end of the day it’s a mystery first, and a comedy second. In that sense it’s almost the opposite of Ready or Not, which I reviewed this summer, which was a black comedy under the guise of a horror film.
I’m not sure why I was convinced this would be a comedy first and a mystery second, but it did impact my viewing experience. I was actually concerned initially because the first 20 minutes or so felt almost leaden to me, with occasional funny moments. Of course, once the ball got rolling, I liked it more and more and more, until I came out of the movie saying, “That was so much fun!”
The Acting is Phenomenal
This movie fundamentally about the characters. Who they are, why they are like that, and their various relationships. And they are played to perfection. Which might not have been the case to be honest. Casting A-listers, and at least four key roles are played by extremely well known celebrities, can be a double-edged sword. I mean, it’s impossible to see Chris Evans and not see, well, Chris Evans. But they are all talented enough that you still buy into the characters themselves and react to the character and not the actor. And that’s on top of all the other actors who I didn’t know, or didn’t recognize.
Acting MVPs
That’s right, this movie has not one, but two acting MVPs. The first is Daniel Craig. I don’t know if I’ve seen an actor enjoy himself quite as much as Daniel Craig was playing Benoit Blanc, a renowned private investigator. He is such a Southern Gentleman (seriously, all that was missing was a mint julep) but he’s also so weird and multilayered. It’s like the character knows he’s a caricature and uses it to both cover his own off-center-ness and also hide what he’s figured out about the case. He is hands down the most fun part of the movie.
Look at this and tell me Daniel Craig isn’t having a blast. And this is without the accent.
The second acting MVP was Ana de Armas, who plays Marta Cabrera, the protagonist of the movie. I’ve never heard of Ana de Armas before, but I hope she comes up in more films. She does an excellent job, in the exact opposite way of Craig and the rest of the cast, by playing a very contained character. Not reserved, but one whose emotions, by necessity of both character and plot, have to be constrained. It’s a performance that could have easily gotten swallowed by the others, and doesn’t. Marta could have easily been a walking vehicle for the plot, or the straight woman to Craig’s detective, but instead the movie and de Armas’ acting make sure Marta is a character you know and feel for.
Conclusion
I know this review was mostly about the acting, but it’s a review of an honest to god mystery, which makes me want to avoid spoilers as much as possible. But also, because the characters are the point. There is the plot, of course, and it does not go the way you’re expecting (and I’m saying that as someone who is really good at figuring out plot twists) and yet still completely tracks when it’s all explained at the end. But the best mysteries aren’t just about the what, but the why, and that requires really well-drawn characters. And boy does this movie have those. And the fact that I want to see it again, less than a week later and even after knowing how the mystery turns out, while that just goes to show how good this movie truly is.
