Whodunnit Whoysteria

Rian Johnson delivers another thematically splendid genre movie.

By Jacob Schermerhorn

(Just like clues in an old creaky house, spoilers abound here so tread cautiously!)

When I was a kid, our family made it a regular tradition of watching Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. Those evenings, I was enchanted by tales of Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and Nero Wolfe as they solved case after case. Someday I hope bayou accented, eccentric, and hammed-up-to-eleven character of Benoit Blanc can be added to that pantheon of eternal detectives. I would happily welcome an entire miniseries with the character. Alas, I think Knives Out probably is best as a stand-alone story, but headcanons exist for a reason and in mine Daniel Craig’s detective is still rushing off to adventures today.

But maybe fixating on a sequel is like scarfing down a meal without enjoying it and in this case, Knives Out makes for a delicious dinner. Events begin after a famous and successful mystery writer Harlen Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) commits suicide following his birthday celebration. Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas) Harlen’s nurse is our POV character and protagonist as she simultaneously tries covering up and solving clues through a tense and exciting ride.

For you see, this movie reveals the murder twist early on (Harlen’s suicide is to protect a mistake Marta made) and the mystery becomes as much about obscuring the truth as discovering it. Additional twists are added when Harlen’s will indicates that Marta will inherit his fortune and suddenly the family turns on her.

The cast is stuffed with talent especially the actors playing hateable rich asshole family of Harlen. Linda and Richard Drysdale (Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Johnson) are “self-made” successes (with a million-dollar loan, wonder where Rian Johnson pulled that number out of?) who are harboring marital stress. Joni Thrombey (Toni Collette) is a hippy Gwyneth Paltrow Goop style influencer. Walt Thrombey (Micheal Shannon) is the sad-sack youngest brother left running his father’s publishing company with his wide-eyed and xenophobic wife Donna (Riki Lindhome) and alt-right troll son. And finally, there’s Ransom Thrombey (Chris Evans), the bad boy grandson who argued with Harlen over inheritance money the night of the suicide. Each family member is a unique but equal style of awfulness that makes you cheer when a final shot reveals a gag with a coffee cup that signifies their comeuppance.

Marta, played by the relatively unknown Armas (she was the hologram lady in Blade Runner 2049!), is the sole character with morals symbolized through a psychosomatic inability to lie without fear of throwing up. This leads to humorous running gags with Blanc using Marta as a living lie detector. But far from being a joke, Marta is the strongest character of all. Her decisions are always to treat people humanly and with kindness. Unlike his family, she cares about Harlen and tries to save housekeeper Fran (Edi Patterson in a role – Yay!) even as it appears she is Marta’s blackmailer. Marta’s heart allows her to overcome the family, solve the mystery, and gain Harlen’s inheritance.

With this film, I can say that Rian Johnson has officially moved up the ranks of directors into someone I will watch regardless of genre or subject matter. I trust his ability to tell a story and appreciate the messages of his movies. If he indeed makes another trilogy of Star Wars films, I’ll be there for that. If he makes another sci-fi thriller like Looper, I’ll be there for that. And if he makes (crossing my fingers so hard) another in the Benoit Blanc mystery series, I’ll be the first in line.