Knives Out Review

By M. Eduarda Ferreira

Title: Knives out 
Directors: Rian Johnson 
Release Date: December 5, 2019 
Main Cast: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas 
Budget: $400 million   
Running time: 130 minutes 

*SPOILER ALERT* 
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I can confidently say that "Knives out" is the best mystery movie I've seen in a long time. The movie is as if a "clue game" came to life; it hooks the audience on its twists and turns, allowing them just enough information to try and guess what's happening, but still having a surprising and satisfying conclusion to it. The merge of the plot, cast, and scenery makes this an incredible picture to watch, even if you hate mystery movies or mind games. I think the roles were cast perfectly, every actor fits exactly what the story demanded of them, helping the "game" come to life. 
When a very successful mystery book writer, Harlan Thrombey, is found with his throat slit open in his room and knife still in his hand, most assume it was a suicide, but can it be considered one? Two police detectives come to the Thrombey Estate to conduct a series of interrogations with the deceased writer's family members; they are joined by special guest, a private investigator called Benoit Blanc. They interview three different parts of the family; Thrombey's daughter Linda, a successful businesswoman, as well as her husband Richard and their son Randsom. There's also Thrombey's son, Walt, which runs the family's publishing company; while Walt does have a wife and child, they are not interrogated. Harlan's daughter-in-law, Joni, is interrogated, too. One other person is also interrogated, and that is Martha Cabrera, Thrombey's nurse, and friend. 
Throughout the movie, it's uncovered that most of these characters have a reason for killing Harlan, but that is not the reason as to why Benoit Blanc is interested in this case; it's more to do with the envelope full of cash and anonymous hiring to crack it. The slightly exaggerated detective then sets out to uncover what truly happened that fateful night, together with Martha at his side after discovering her uncanny inability to lie. But what he doesn't know is that Martha has a secret of her own.  
After a car chase, betrayal, shocking will reading, and even an arson case, we get to the most expected part of the entire movie: the reveal. With great pleasure and satisfaction for the viewer, elements from throughout the movie are brought back to this intense scene, together with a very excited detective who is finally putting all the pieces together. I was delighted to watch what sort of details I managed to catch on to and which ones passed over my mind completely.  
To me, this movie was incredible, but there was still one thing that I found could have been better. My main critique is that some of the characters were lost as the story progressed; I was expecting more from certain people, such as Jacob Thrombey, who could have had such a larger role in the picture but became purely ornamental after a couple of scenes.  
Overall, I stand by my review as one of the best mystery movies up to date. The mixture of comedy, Daniel Craig with an accent and the prospect of figuring things out is always enticing, and this movie sure met all of my expectations. It will surely keep you engaged from the opening interviews to one of the best closing scenes ever.