#kcallan

Rian Johnson, despite being put through the Star Wars fandom ringer for his choices on The Force Awakens, is known for being a consistent creator of genre-bending and visually appealing stories.  With Brick, The Brothers Bloom and Looper under his belt, Johnson has proven his ability and range as a director, and he continues to add to his varied menagerie of films with his latest offering, the modern-day whodunit Knives Out. 

Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), a famous and wealthy crime novelist, is found dead by his housekeeper Fran (Edi Patterson) after a family party full of tough news.  With the death looking like a suicide on the onset, Detective Lieutenant Elliot (Lakeith Stanfield) and Trooper Wagner (Noah Segan) are assigned to investigate the case, and they bring Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) with them due to an anonymous request he received asking for his involvement.  The investigative group interviews the key members of the family in hopes of uncovering information : Linda Drysdale (Jamie Lee Curtis), eldest daughter, real estate mogul, husband to Richard Drysdale (Don Johnson) and mother to Ransom (Chris Evans); Walt Thrombey (Michael Shannon), the youngest son of Harlan, the CEO of Harlan’s publishing company, husband to Donna Thrombey (Riki Lindhome) and father to Jacob (Jaeden Martell); Joni Thrombey (Toni Collette), Harlan’s daughter-in-law, free-spirited influencer, and mother to Meg (Katherine Langford); and Wanetta (K Callan), Harlan’s aged mother.  Due to family in-fighting and possible deception, Blanc gravitates to Marta (Ana de Armas), Harlan’s Guatemalan nurse, caretaker and confidant with an odd quirk that forces her to vomit if she lies.  As the investigators learn more and more about the circumstances surrounding Harlan’s death in light of Harlan’s last minute decision to cut his family out of his will and pass his fortune on to Marta, everyone is on edge and stakes raise higher and higher until the entire situation comes crashing down.

Like many in the general and critical audience have stated, Knives Out is a modern update to a classic style, though more in pacing and slight tonal adjustment than an all-out alteration to the style.  The film adheres to the traditional style of seeding that leads to reveals, but with a Pulp Fiction-esque approach to exposition and the revelations of key bits of information that allows us to think we know more than we more, and trust whether we want to rely on our assumptions.  What appears to be misinformation at first is often revealed to be pertinent on several levels, and the way that much of it is shrouded in comedy works much to the benefit of Johnson’s directorial style and talented cast.  The heavily textured story is left with no loose threads due to these tenants, with a wonderfully solid balance between family madness and motives that ping-pongs you between the aforementioned exposition and the ever-present tension.

The real updates come in the way that the film is very self-aware of both story and style.  No real new ground is broken in terms of the plot, but the contrivances are skirted by old tropes being given new facelifts : Joni, though remaining hippie in name, is now an influencer rather than a traditional free spirit... the problematic son, in the form of Jacob, is now a troll that hides behind social media... even the fact that the head investigator is black has absolutely zero bearing to the story (in fact, the key protagonist is also a minority whose family is in the United States illegally, which is only played as leverage for blackmail).  In terms of style, the film is very self-aware of the classic and more modern tropes of the ‘whodunit’, with references to Clue, Murder She Wrote, Sherlock Holmes, Hallmark movies , CSI and even Baby Driver popping up.

If forced to compare this film to an earlier Rian Johnson film, I’d say this one falls in the realm of The Brothers Bloom with its whimsical deception that carries heavy consequences, and its cast of characters with standout personalities.  The set design of the maze-like home is a true sight to behold, with visual flare populating nearly every inch of the screen as the camera floats through the home... the home stands out even further when compared to the small handful of locations visited outside of it within the world of the film.  The humor is wonderful, going from plenty of political-based humor to screwball absurdist dialogue with surprising grace and fluidity... ‘I’m running on pure adrenaline, I fell like I swallowed bees’ is easily one of my favorite lines of the year.  I am sure that, upon repeat viewing, the film will unveil itself as host to many visual surprises not noticed during the first viewing.

Daniel Craig is given the comedic leeway he was given in Logan Lucky, where the force that he plays against type makes his character as hilarious as he is perceptive.  Ana de Armas holds her own against both Craig and Christopher Plummer, with her down to earth nature making her a great protagonist and audience surrogate in light of the gravitas the Plummer holds on-screen, and the way Craig demands the attention of the audience.  Chris Evans makes the most of his limited screen time, leaving a lasting impression despite demanding the least attention of the family that is cast.  Jamie Lee Curtis does a wonderful job playing a generational echo of Plummer, trying her best to bring dignity to a band of misfits.  Don Johnson’s wildness plays well against Michael Shannon’s uptight portrayal, and Toni Collette stirs the pot wonderfully with her suspicious nature blanketed by a show of free spirit.  Katherine Langford plays a good bridge between the family and Marta while still portraying the most tactless Thrombey traits, and her verbal sparring with Jaeden Martell works well.  Lakeith Stanfield and Noah Segan not only do a great job pushing the narrative forward, but their random colloquialisms and observational statements are great modernizing elements.  Edi Patterson, Riki Lindhome, Frank Oz, K Callan, M. Emmet Walsh and Marlene Forte also make memorable appearances.