Director: Rian Johnson
Writer: Rian Johnson
Stars: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas
A masterful genre recreation that cements Rian Johnson’s legacy, Knives Out is easily the most entertaining film of the year topped with a poignant political message that subliminally lines the final moments. Wow. Big words. Knives Out is pure entertainment. It’s relentless energetic. It demands your attention and holds it. It’s an absolute marvel. I shouldn’t need to tell you anymore than that. But I will. Because it wouldn’t be fair otherwise. Knives Out takes an incredible risk. It gives you a considerable amount of information right up front. It also introduces one of the boldest plot devices in recent cinema (a character trait that is absolutely hilarious, but also befuddling upon introduction).
What results is more of a cat and mouse game than a classic whodunit. And you have an emotional connection to the protagonist to boot! But the moment when the shoe drops, the moment you’ve been agonising over for nearly 2 hours (that moment of getting the full truth), is so gratifying that it actually makes me smile just reminiscing about it. The range of emotions Johnson is able to touch on in that brilliant swelling climax is nothing short of remarkable. And the performances! Everyone across the board (save one actress that I won’t signal out but was unenthused by) delivers riveting drama. Each is guilty. What exactly they’re guilty of is the question. And that question becomes the driving force of one of the smartest narratives I’ve ever had the pleasure of sitting through. This is undeniably a boring review.
Who wants to read nothing but raves? As I alluded earlier, my only issue lies in an actress that I believe is miscast. As I say all the time, everyone is capable of good work, some things are just better examples than others. This actress is constantly playing at emotions rather than feeling them and unfortunately she plays a crucial role. It becomes grating. But whatever. This movie is nearly flawless. Please go see Knives Out immediately. Please give me all the sequels so I can hear that delightfully campy foghorn leghorn accent that Daniel Craig has over and over again. 9.5/10
Movie Burner Entertainment 