Knives Out

On Tuesday, November 12th I was fortunate enough to attend the premiere of Knives Out at HIFF. Knives Out is a crime comedy where one morning, a famous writer named Harlan Thrombey is found dead in his estate. It had occurred on the night of his 85th birthday while the rest of his family had been visiting for a party and staying overnight. Detective Benoit Blanc, a polite southern gentleman, is mysteriously enlisted to investigate each member of the eccentric family and Harlan’s nurse Marta; sifting through their recounts on the night of the incident and partial truths told. When Marta begins to recall her version of the evening, soon everyone prepares to fight for what they believe is their part of Harlan’s will. A very funny yet morbid comedy, Knives Out is not a film to miss!

Photo courtesy of imdb

I was very excited to see this film because of many recent ads I have seen for the film and it lived up to its expectations. The film was directed by Rian Johnson and its plot was intriguing because the story was told in on old detective style type story but is set in the present day, giving it a new twist. The audience was constantly on the edge of their seat, every step further into the investigation kept them guessing about what will happen next to which character or if something comical would happen instead. I especially enjoyed the dialogue in the film for its deadpan humor and its subliminal jokes making fun of its own genre; and I think so did the rest of the audience in the theatre too! The film also had a solid cast; it was extremely funny to see actor Daniel Craig perform his whole role with a southern drawl, and seeing actor Chris Evans take the role of a trust fund schemer. Knives Out gives a refreshing and modern retelling to the classic detective story, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys comedy or crime movies!