Review: How "Knives Out" Reinvents the Whodunit is a Clear Success

Scene from Knives Out

The world of Agatha Christie is alive and well in director Rian Johnson's Knives Out. This murder mystery is an original story that pays tribute to the whodunit's of yesteryear while applying a glossy coat of 21st-century idealism over it. With the introduction of detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) out to solve the murder of Harlan Thrombley (Christopher Plummer), the story goes about the journey that makes for one of the most enjoyable films of 2019. On its surface, it's a familiar story where everyone's a suspect and the comedy thrives when people have their own grudges being yelled from across rooms in a form of defense. Their egos will never be put in check, however, so who will go so far as to reveal themselves in this mess? The answer is only part of the reason that this film succeeds as more than a Christie pastiche. It's the story of a modern society coming to terms with its own changing tides, and that elevates the film's relevance to something more than mystery fodder.

Johnson has long been a fan of genre conventions. From his first film Brick, he turned the neo-noir into a schoolyard journey. His later films subverted time travel with Looper and (for better or worse), his take on Star Wars with The Last Jedi found him going further by messing with beloved movie mythology. He loves playing with expectations, so it makes sense that the star-studded cast of Knives Out would continually find a reason to surprise the viewer with shocking twists and absurd comments that make this a delightful journey into mystery. In a time where every film has a familiarity to it, Johnson seeks to find something new. In the process, he finds the potential start of a new franchise. Much like Christie relied on Hercules Poirot to navigate her journeys, Benoit Blanc is Johnson's man of choice.

After a few interrogations get underway that establish the personal divides between the Thrombley, Blanc enters the film from the background where he's been sitting banging keys on a piano. Craig looks to be getting his post-Bond muscles in shape with an eccentric character that sounds like a British person doing a spot-on impersonation of Looney Tunes staple Foghorn Leghorn. There is so much about him that is immediately engaging from his accent down to how he solves his crimes. He even gets to the point where he comically deconstructs the very idea of a whodunnit that takes wordplay to a new level. He is the suspicious center of the film, waxing poetic about "Gravity's Rainbow" as he listens to everyone's alibis. The audience is privy to these moments, some even recreated, and it immediately gets the juices going. Who killed Harlan and why?

Those are both only half of what makes Knives Out a fun caper that rewards close attention. It's as much Craig's ability to add insightful wit as he's dealing with characters who are barely held together. The family is themselves archetypes of 21st-century monikers, such as the jaded celebrity, the self-starter businessman, and even a Nazi. There's so much screwy about them that Johnson's point slowly becomes clear. This isn't just about a crime, it's about the motive for how these people exist and think within their own bubbles. They fight over selfish reasons. Trustfund brat Ransom (Chris Evans) exists almost exclusively to have people get annoyed and to watch him laugh in their face only shows how petty the levels go. The one character without familial ties, butler Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas) exists as the most interesting plot device both for how she's used in relation to Harlan's will and also as a misunderstood figure often used for scapegoating the white rich family's problems.

Yes, there's an underlying sense of American commentary on this film. The white rich characters are the loudest and most obscene. Even then, Johnson knows to give them some of the juiciest dialogue, allowing them to shoot their own foot off with silly outbreaks. The observers tend to be distinguishingly different, such as Lieutenant Elliott (Lakeith Stanfield), who is just as over the nonsense as the audience is. They want answers to why this family can't just chill out. It all builds to a conclusion that feels very pointed and proves that there was a deeper point to Johnson's commentary. Sure the Christie nods are excellent, but why is it so bad that everyone hates Marta? There's a deeper reason, and it all becomes a poignant reminder of how divided the country is on personal affairs. 

With that said, Johnson clearly is too in love with the murder mystery genre. Composer Nathan Johnson has strings that swing around a room as if searching for clues. There's a cameo from Clue director Frank Oz that is more than nodding. Even the sly references suggest that there's as much fun to be had in finding how self-aware this film is. While this is far from the first whodunit this century, it's maybe one of the most inventive and clever about everything. The humor is laid on thick, and the meta-commentary of it all only improves the longer that it's thought about. This is the type of movie that feels refreshing just because of how few are made by a major studio these days. It feels like a pastiche in that way, even if the substance is anything but nostalgic. It's so relevant that it immediately becomes a period piece of this moment, likely to stay that way forever. The question then is if it will age well with its nods to Twitter and various media specific to this moment.

Knives Out is a delightful film that is about more than solving a murder. It's about enjoying the construction of film on every level, allowing every detail to be analyzed under a magnifying glass and discovering what moments stick out. It's full of great characters that range from silly and inconsequential to some of the most shocking and vile in the cinema this year. Whatever the case may be, the journey of Benoit Blanc is one that is a borderline caricature but is given levity by his own intelligence. So much of the film is so aware it's a film that it revels in style. Even then, what's created is a story that is more than pastiche. It's about redefining that familiarity for a new generation and finding ways to discuss the mysteries of modern society through a lens that is entertaining and accessible. The results are exciting enough for a quick romp, and one that will hopefully lead to many more journeys soon.