Knives Out

Name: Knives Out
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Comedy, Crime
Released: November 27, 2019
Duration: 131 min
Rating: 82
Cast: Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Christopher Plummer, Daniel Craig, Don Johnson

2019

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 52 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 1091 Ratings

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7.7

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7.7	Your Score
7.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 1091 Ratings

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Knives Out

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Movie Details & Credits

Lionsgate | Release Date: November 27, 2019 | PG-13

Starring: Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Christopher Plummer, Daniel Craig, Don Johnson, Edi Patterson, Frank Oz, Jaeden Lieberher, Jamie Lee Curtis, Katherine Langford, Lakeith Stanfield, Michael Shannon, Riki Lindhome, Toni Collette

Summary: 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 andWhen 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.… Expand

Director: Rian Johnson

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Comedy, Crime

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 131 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Joe Morgenstern

Nov 27, 2019

An entertainment that’s as smart, witty, stylish and exhilarating as any movie lover could wish for. It’s tempting to call it the sort of movie they don’t make any more, but they didn’t make all that many way back when, because it’s really hard to pull off a production of such startling quality. If there’s a false note from start to finish I must have been laughing or gasping when it sounded. Read full review

Thom Ernst

Nov 27, 2019

Knives Out is a charming and wonderfully crafted whodunnit that, despite the inevitable presence of a dead body, plays like a warm and cozy antidote to the winter chills. Read full review

Justin Chang

Nov 22, 2019

This is, to be sure, a riotously funny movie — a priceless collection of puns, insults, one-liners and some of the best-timed barf gags this side of “Problem Child 2” — but it also treats the classical detective story with the seriousness and grandeur it deserves. Read full review

Dan Caffrey

Sep 27, 2019

Even if Knives Out loses a micro-dose of its claustrophobia and tension in the second act, it’s in the name of undoing what we’ve come to expect of past whodunnit stories. It’s all part of what makes the film such an effective, entertaining, and contemporary spin on what’s no longer a worn-out genre. Read full review

Dana Stevens

Nov 14, 2019

Knives Out is a sendup of twisty murder mysteries with all-star ensemble casts that also loves and respects that silly tradition. Read full review

Steve Davis

Nov 27, 2019

The movie’s wit and energy hold your interest, but they don’t spark the pleasure of the unexpected, the thrill you felt in "Laura," "The Last of Sheila," "Chinatown," "The Sixth Sense," or the 1974 adaptation of Christie’s "Murder on the Orient Express" (not Kenneth Branagh’s inept remake), movies whose big reveals surprise you in their elegant simplicity. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

Nov 26, 2019

Johnson’s own sleight of hand is estimable, even if his effort to add politics into the crowded mix rings hollow. The machine is what matters here, and he has clearly had such a good time engineering it that it’s hard not to feel bad when you don’t laugh along with him. Read full review

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User Reviews

nmuldoon

Nov 27, 2019

What’s been part of the fun of following Rian Johnson’s career over the last 15 years is seeing just which genre Johnson will choose to tackle next. Ever since his debut, Rian Johnson has proven himself as a scholar of genre filmmaking; showing not only a keen knowledge of the rules eachWhat’s been part of the fun of following Rian Johnson’s career over the last 15 years is seeing just which genre Johnson will choose to tackle next. Ever since his debut, Rian Johnson has proven himself as a scholar of genre filmmaking; showing not only a keen knowledge of the rules each genre but how to update them. Sometimes this was trading the seedy nightclubs and political offices of 40’s noir for the lunchroom tables of different social cliques as in ‘Brick’ or updating the social politics of a galaxy far far away in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’. Rian Johnson has always found a way to tell new stories in the medium of something old-fashioned. Knives Out, his latest, repeats this trick to perhaps its greatest effect yet.

Knives Out is in a lot of ways a classic whodunnit, it follows an eccentric detective, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, reprising his Southern drawl from ‘Logan Lucky’) as he investigates the death of a wealthy crime fiction novelist, Harlan Thrombley (Christopher Plummer), and questions the family of suspects who could have murdered him. Rian Johnson’s film pays homage to the work of Agatha Christie with every staple that Christie purists could hope for, - the larger-than-life cast of suspects, the old ornate Victorian home, the big reveal scene where our brilliant detective puts everything together - and yet Knives Out feels completely fresh.

What Knives Out does is update the whodunnit genre to make is distinctly American and show what our society looks like in a post-Trump world. Rian Johnson’s film in a lot of ways is not too different from Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’, as a genre film that’s a trojan horse, in this case to talk about class and privilege in America. Similar to Peele’s film, Knives Out also shows a boldness in calling out the hypocrisies and ignorance of those on both sides of the political aisle. As we meet character after character in the Thrombley family, each is eager to proudly claim full credit for their own personal success while comically defensive of how they obtained it. Meanwhile the film juxtaposes this with the character of Marta, (Ana de Armas) Harlan’s caretaker, a young hard-working Latina woman who perhaps was the only one who truly cared about Harlan. Throughout the film, the Thrombleys continue to tell Blanc how Marta is just like family to them while we see her constantly condescended and ignored. A very sharp reoccurring joke even features each Thrombley with a completely different answer (Ecuador, Uruguay, Brazil) for where they think Marta’s family immigrated from. The way these distinctions Rian Johnson creates in class and privilege only deepen as the central mystery reveals itself creates a keenly observed snapshot of our contemporary culture. In some ways, this may actually be Johnson’s greatest homage to Agatha Christie, as she too, was an author who used her work to also critique the society of her era.

Knives Out has a distinct sense of tone unique for the genre. While the whodunnit has seen several serious adaptation like ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ and ‘Death on the Nile’, and camp parodies like ‘Clue, and ‘Murder by Death’ - Johnson’s film falls somewhere right between. Knives Out is a film that takes its mystery and air of suspense seriously, but has fun undercutting it by finding the comedy in it’s heightened characters and ridiculous circumstances. In a lot of ways it’s a similar approach to genre that his contemporary Edgar Wright (who even gets a small shout out) has taken in the past with films like ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and ‘Hot Fuzz. These are films with a deep regard toward their genre and influences looking to create something in their tradition while finding a new comedic take on it.

It feels somewhat perfect that Knives Out would be released on Thanksgiving, the film echoes the very conversations many Americans are having with their families around dinner tables this week but manages to illustrate them in the most entertaining way possible. It’s no hyperbole to say that this film is one of the most fun experiences I’ve had at the cinema in recent years. Rian Johnson’s latest is a genre exercise that is thrilling, hilarious, and has more than a few things to say. Knives Out is not just the perfect entertainment for your holiday weekend, it’s one of the best films of the year.… Expand

26 of 64 users found this helpful2638

JPK

Dec 8, 2019

Extremely Fun
Considering this was directed by the guy that did The Last Jedi, I’m surprised the user score isn’t like a 3.8 or something like that, But Anyways Knives Out is extremely well done film with a cast that truly makes this film.

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

markclemence

Aug 22, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i loved this movie! the plot twist and the endings were amazzinggg. i was always at the edge of my seat. loved the acting of chris evans!!… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

keanex

Feb 21, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Knives Out is a tense movie reminiscent of Clue, but for the modern era. There are plenty of twists and turns that keep the movie suspenseful, while benefiting the pacing of the movie. The lead actress Ana de Armas and lead actor Daniel Craig do a great job of providing a nice contrast between seriousness and keeping the silliness of these kind of movies. I greatly enjoyed trying to solve the mystery as the clues unfolded, much like Clue or a Scooby Doo episode. Well worth the watch!… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

JLuis_001

Dec 11, 2019

Deceptively simple but strangely addictive and intelligently constructed.

I really didn't know what to expect about this film. I mean I knew the reviews had been good and the truth is that I was really interested because of Rian Johnson and the amazing cast he gathered. And the filmDeceptively simple but strangely addictive and intelligently constructed.

I really didn't know what to expect about this film. I mean I knew the reviews had been good and the truth is that I was really interested because of Rian Johnson and the amazing cast he gathered.

And the film responded with good stuff, at least in my perspective. While it's true that you quickly sense who's responsible, the plot is pretty good and hooks you up since the first minute.
The suspense never falters drastically, with the exception of some slowdowns in the rhythm. Even so, Knives Out it's quite an entertaining experience and I loved that.

Very well done mainstream cinema outside franchises.
It's well known that we need a lot of it, so go watch this film.… Expand

8 of 14 users found this helpful86

CornwallAdams

Jan 15, 2020

This film was surprisingly entertaining. It's able to balance so many elements at once without it feeling boring or dull at any points. The acting in the film was nice as well, with each character having their own little moment.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

flamebreath

Nov 12, 2020

All cases are coincidences and the detective reveals the culprit only by speculation without a clue.

2 of 7 users found this helpful25

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49	#49 Best Movie of 2019
19	#19 Most Discussed Movie of 2019