Knives Out

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• LARGE
• MEDIUM
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Available digitally today!

Whether you liked "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" or not (I loved it and think it's unfairly maligned), you have to give credit where credit is due: Rian Johnson is an exciting and talented writer/director. From his acclaimed debut "Brick" to the innovative time-travel/sci-fi mind-bender "Looper," Johnson knows how to work his way around the process. He constantly surprises, and clearly loves the playground that is filmmaking.

This is clear with his follow-up to "The Last Jedi," a comedy/mystery called "Knives Out" that gives a modern twist to Agatha Christie-style mysteries and even modern classics like "Clue." Here, he introduces us to the Thrombley family — a gaggle of adult children and their various spouses and children who are being investigated for the murder of their patriarch Harlan (Christopher Plummer). Housekeeper Fran (Edi Patterson) finds Harlan dead, with his throat slit, in the opening scene, and while his death is ruled a suicide, a mysterious investigator named Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) arrives to find out if this is actually true — or if there was some foul play going on.

One by one, the family gives their versions of a birthday party they attended for Harlan on the night he was murdered. Each has their own take on what happened, and they all seem to have secret issues with Daddy that makes them a suspect. But that's not all: Their nurse/caretaker Marta (Ana de Armas) is also being questioned, as she was one of the last people to see Harlan alive. She also has an unusual physical tic that makes it difficult for her to lie.

The family all tries to navigate Blanc's questioning, clearly chomping at the bit to find out what is left for them in the will. You see, Harlan was a world-renowned mystery novelist, and has amassed quite a fortune — not to mention a castle-like abode in Boston. Among his greedy children are Richard (Don Johnson) and his wife Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis), publisher Walt (Michael Shannon), fitness guru Joni (Toni Collette), and moody bad-boy Ransom (Chris Evans). There's also Harlan's mother, Great Nana Wanetta, played hilariously by K Callan.

There's not much more that can be said plot-wise, as the entire movie has mystery upon mystery, reveal upon reveal, and twists around other twists. All of this is best left for the viewer to discover, and Johnson does a bang-up job keeping it all balanced and moving forward.

While this is a large ensemble cast of familiar faces, it was surprising that relative newcomer to American film Ana de Armas ("Blade Runner 2049" and Mia Kirshner lookalike) is the star here. She and Craig are the force of the movie, with the other stars handling their smaller roles with aplomb (although some really do get short-changed; as great as Curtis is, she barely registers here).

Armas carries the film expertly, playing both the drama and the comedy and cementing herself as a star to watch. (She'll be seen next year in "Blonde" as Norma Jean/Marilyn Monroe). While she might not win any awards over the likes of Renee Zelleweger (for "Judy") or the ladies from "Bombshell" come Oscar time, her heavy lifting deserves recognition.

The good news is that every time I thought I had figured out "who dun it," I was foiled. The ending might not be a total mouth-dropper, but it's clever and has a few waiting twists of its own.

"Knives Out" is a total lark, and an old-fashioned crowd-pleaser in a season of sequels and high-drama Oscar bait. It's something audiences should definitely take a stab at.