Knives Out

In 2017 Rian Johnson directed Star Wars : The Last Jedi. That film took a couple of turns no one expected and the fanboys of the world screamed and wailed in unison when the story they had in their heads didn't match what was onscreen. The internet, of course, exploded. Everyone involved in the film got dog's abuse and the man who started his career with the highly enjoyable Brick realised just how toxic fandom can be. Not unsurprisingly his latest film is not set a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away. He's gone back to his roots. A mystery. A fun one and he's brought along his lucky charm too in the shape of Noah Segan (Trooper Wagner), an actor who's appeared in every one of his films. You've gotta love that kind of loyalty.

Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), the writer of wildly popular crime novels is 85 years old. Or he was for a couple of hours at least. The patriarch of the family is dead by his own hand and his sons and daughters who've spent their lives leeching off him are concerned with what the future now holds for them. Even more concerning is the suggestion that his death may be suspicious and private eye Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is here to find out just what exactly happened to him & the first person in his sights is Marta Cabrera (Ana De Armas), Harlan's personal caretaker. A woman who cannot lie.

Knives Out is a little slice of joy. A intricately plotted slice. All the pieces matter, every character adds to the fun and every scene deepens the plot. It's starts off relatively clear cut but as the plot gets more and more convoluted it gets more and more enjoyable. It's almost a rare treat these days to watch a film who's main intent is to entertain the audience and not to blind us with CGI. It feels like a throwback to those great Agatha Christie adaptions from the 70's, Death On The Nile & Murder On The Orient Express, with their star studded casts all looking exceedingly dodgy. You might be able to work out the how it's all going to end but there's still lots of fun on the journey to get there.

There's a lovely old fashioned feel about it all but it's still set in a very modern world. SJW & snowflake are thrown around as insults. The Thrombey family stronghold has internet trolls and right wing agenda's roaming it's halls. Rich white privilege rules the roost & Marta Cabrera is there to witness it all. An immigrant from central America who they all claim to see as family but who they know very little about as we find out in a brilliant running gag. They are the 1% looking down on the help and as such we get to have a whale of a time watching their world crumble. The lifestyle to which they've become accustomed is threatened and one scene late in the film sees them all turn very uncivilised very fast in a moment that starts hilarious but turns sinister quickly.

The Thrombey house at Dearborn drive is full of famous faces. Some might even call it overstuffed. For every scene of Jamie Lee Curtis hamming it up there's one of Michael Shannon mostly in shadow. For each Chris Evan's sneer there's Lakeith Stanfield left as a mostly mute witness to proceedings. We'll laugh at Toni Collette aping Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle nonsense while wondering why Katherine Langford is even there. Most of the cast do get a wee moment to shine as they backstab the hell out of each other but they're all in the shade of Daniel Craig having a whale of a time as Benoit. Rocking a ridiculously syrupy Southern accent he has a mighty time as a Cajun flavoured Columbo with leaps of detective logic that would put that loveable 70's TV icon to shame ( i really want him to get a spin off). Ana de Armas as Marta has the toughest role in the movie and is the only one not playing her part at volume 11. As such she stands apart from the others and that's how they see her. The other. One of the most telling moments in the film involves her, Don Johnson and a dessert plate. One of many little things that help build the film towards a very enjoyable climax.

Go see this. You will be entertained. Then maybe see it again just to see how well it all fits together. In cinemas everywhere from Friday.