Knives Out movie is an entertaining murder mystery by the well-known writer and director Rian Johnson. His contemporary whodunit peeks into the class struggle in the capitalist US.
The former 007 James Bond actor – Daniel Craig plays the renowned Detective Benoit Blanc, who solves the murder mystery in this film. With this whodunit movie, director Rian pays homage to Agatha Christie. As you all might be aware, Agatha is one of the best-selling novelists of all time and perhaps the world’s most famous mystery writer.
Synopsis of the Knives Out (2019) Movie
When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate.
From Harlan’s dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan’s untimely death.
Ratings of the Knives Out (2019) movie
| FM’s rating | 4.15/5 |
| Rotten Tomatoes ratings as of the date | 97% Tomatometer & 92% Audience Score |
| Critics Consensus / Rotten Tomatoes | This film sharpens old murder-mystery tropes with a keenly assembled suspense outing that makes brilliant use of writer-director Rian Johnson’s stellar ensemble. |
Spoiler Free brief review of the Knives Out (2019) movie
What is this mystery film about?
We have always loved a good whodunit movie like this one. With its stellar ensemble cast of amazing actors, this is an entertaining murder mystery movie; which dares to question the class divide subtly in the capitalist society of the United States of America. Although, we have shared the film synopsis above, kindly note that we are not disclosing the storyline of this film here. We sincerely believe that it might spoil your viewing pleasure.
What did we like in this suspense film?
It has a wonderful ensemble cast. Daniel Craig aka 007 leads from the front as the antagonist Detective Benoit Blanc. He is superbly supported by a group of other well-known actors – Christopher Plummer (Harlan Thrombrey), Chris Evans (Ransom Drysdale), Ana de Armas (Marta), Jamie Lee Curtis (Linda Drysdale), Toni Collette (Joni Thrombey), Don Johnson (Richard Drysdale), Michael Shannon (Walt Thrombey), Riki Lindhome (Donna Thrombey), etc. They have played their parts almost perfectly.
Most of these actors are playing the roles of the suspected murderers in this whodunit movie. And their convincing acting makes everyone a suspect in the murder mystery. The fact remains that almost the entire family of the murdered wealthy Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) has reasons and means to carry out his killing.
A tight script and taut direction by Rian
And to be honest, we do not know how to review a suspense movie without offering any kind of spoiler to the readers, who have yet to see this film. Although we must praise the writer and director of this detective cinema – Rian Johnson. He has done a commendable job. The detailed sketching of each character (murder suspect) is thorough.
The conclusion
Kudos to his entire team too especially its ensemble actors for entertaining us with such an amazing crime-mystery cinema. It is one of the great suspense that we have seen in recent years. And without any kind of hesitation, we highly recommend this movie to watch ASAP, as soon as possible. Enjoy – identifying and catching the killer.
Poster of the Knives Out (2019) Movie
Key details about the Knives Out (2019) Movie
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Comedy |
| Duration | 2 hours 10 minutes |
| Writer & Director | Rian Johnson |
| Released | November 2019 (Theatre) June 2020 (Streaming) |
| Age-Restrictions | UA (PG-13) |
| Cast | Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, etc. |
| Distributor | Lionsgate Films |
Trailer of the Knives Out (2019) Movie
Awards won by the Knives Out (2019) Movie
| Awards Names | Awards Winners |
|---|---|
| Satellite Awards 2019 | Winner – Special Achievement Award – Best Ensemble, Motion Picture – {K Callan, Toni Collette, Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Don Johnson, Katherine Langford, Riki Lindhome, Jaeden Martell, Frank Oz, Edi Patterson, Christopher Plummer, Michael Shannon, LaKeith Stanfield, etc.} |
| Hollywood Critics Association 2020 | Winner – HCA Award – Best Cast |
| AFI Awards, USA 2020 | Winner – AFI Award – Movie of the Year – it simply slays a modern “whodunit” pulsing with Hitchcockian thrills in this stylish staging of murder most foul. |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA 2021 | Winner – Saturn Award – Best Thriller Film Winner – Saturn Award – Best Supporting Actress – Ana de Armas |
Focus on other good whodunit movies named by Rian Jhonson
A couple of years ago, the Writer and Director Rian Jhonson shared a list of whodunit movies on a Twitter thread – Evil Under The Sun (1982), Murder By Death (1976), Death On The Nile (1978), The Last Of Sheila (1973), Deathtrap (1982), Clue (1985), Gosford Park (2001), The Mirror Crack’d (1980), Something’s Afoot (1982), Murder On The Orient Express (1974), The Private Eyes (1980), and Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019).
In recent times, Rian Johnson has created admirable whodunit movies; besides a fantastic crime drama series titled Poker Face. Watch all of these, but start with this 2019 murder mystery film.
- Glass Onion ~ Detective Benoit Blanc investigates a tech billionaire and his friends for murder.
- Poker Face ~ A mystery-of-the-week series follows Charlie Cale, who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying.
Enjoy!
Featured & Other Images: Knives Out | Lionsgate.