What to Watch: Knives Out

by Chelsea House, GGR Contributor

I’m going to start by saying that murder mysteries are one of my all time favorite things to watch. I grew up watching Murder She Wrote, Matlock, Cadfael, so on and so forth. I love the board game Clue and I’m a sucker for any Sherlock Holmes movies, shows, or video games. All of that to say, I’m incredibly stingy with my good reviews of murder mysteries, even if I am super quick to delve into them. 

This movie starts you off the way any good murder mystery does. A large historic, borderline creepy, estate home, a house maid, and a murder scene. The house maid, Fran (Edi Patterson, Partners), casually calls for Harlan Thrombey while carrying his breakfast tray. When she finally comes upon his dead body it does the typical shot of her shocked face, her eyes wide, her body tense, then switches to the shot of the dead body, blood oozing from a slit throat, and back to her face for you to hear that iconic scream. This immediately sets itself apart and instead has Fran clumsily spills the breakfast tray she was carrying followed by a charming curse word. 

    Knives Out is about the Thrombey family and the murder of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer, The Sound of Music, Star Trek VI) who was a self-made millionaire author. His three children, Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis, Halloween), Walt (Michael Shannon, Man of Steel), and Joni his widowed daughter-in-law (Toni Colette, Little Miss Sunshine) have all in some form or another mooched from his generous coffers their whole lives. This trio and their children Ransom (Chris Evans, Captain America), Meg (Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why), and Jacob (Jaeden Martell, It) among others are brought to the Thrombey household to “mourn” over the death of Harlan as well as to hear the readings of the last will and testament, as most money grubbers do when their rich relatives die. Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas, Blade Runner 2049 ) is the lead role of this film as Harlan Thrombey’s nurse maid who ends up working alongside Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, Casino Royale) to solve the crime. 

Everything about Knives Out is clever and well thought out. It’s a movie that you need to pay attention to every detail, and even then, you still might end up not being the sleuth you thought you were. There is definitely a reason this movie has a rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes as well as an 8/10 for IMDb. In all of my stinginess, I would honestly rate this a 10/10. I enjoyed every scene and felt connected almost immediately to what was going on. I loved the way they laid out each scene, constantly making you think and showing the importance of perspective and point of view. Whenever I see a stacked cast like this, I always become weary of what they are trying to overcompensate. However, the cast worked so well together and the chemistry was amazing, especially Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas who played their roles to perfection. 

Knives Out will definitely be a go to in the future for me on rainy days. If you’re a murder mystery lover like myself, do yourself a favor and go watch this beauty!