First Take: Knives Out- Rian Johnson, you little tease

SYNOPSIS: A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.

Well, this is another highly anticipated review. Last year gave us a lot of surprises, with Joker, Hustlers and many others being hyped up, and successfully delivering on expectations. The latest work from Rian Johnson does that and more, and, well, he can be forgiven for Last Jedi now.

Johnson writes and directs this one very well, making a truly unique and bold narrative that feels like one of his earlier works (2005′s Brick, 2008′s The Brothers Bloom, and of course, 2012′s Looper are amongst his early films), with things you can really only get away with in an indie film. Clocking in at a tight 2 hours 10 minutes, sure, a few minutes here and there could’ve been cut down, but the film has enough room to breathe and most importantly play out a complex story, that keeps you hanging right up to a certain ‘donut hole’ speech. All of Johnson’s collaborators are back, with his cousin Nathan handling scoring duties, and Steve Yedlin behind the camera, and it obviously feels like the film they have been wanting to make since getting a major Star Wars gig secured.

As for the cast, having such a group like this on any film is a huge deal. Ahead of No Time to Die, we got Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas together on screen for the first time, and if their work here is anything to go by, those two are going to carry this next Bond film to new heights- supporting them are Christopher Plummer, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield (of Sorry to Bother You fame), Katherine Langford, Frank Oz, and a small part from frequent collaborator Joseph Gordon-Levitt. That list is insane, and they all put in some great work- particularly Chris Evans, who is breaking out of his Captain America mould for the first time in years, something which is big in its own right.

THE VERDICT

Knives Out is a damn good murder mystery film that takes the conventions of the genre, and adds a Rian Johnson twist, some great performances and some dark humour to create something truly unique. Lionsgate have confirmed a sequel, so I can’t wait to see more of the detective masterclass brought in by a certain Benoit Blanc. 

RATING: 4.5/5