Knives Out (2019)

Released in 2019 and produced by MRC and T-Street, Knives Out arrived at a moment when the whodunit genre had largely retreated to prestige television. Rian Johnson brought it back to the big screen with a film that wears its Agatha Christie influences on its sleeve, setting a classic country-house mystery inside a sprawling New England estate and populating it with exactly the sort of squabbling, moneyed family you would expect Christie herself to have relished. The premise is pleasingly old-fashioned: crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead the morning after his eighty-fifth birthday, and an anonymous client has hired the dapper, honey-voiced Detective Benoit Blanc to poke around the family's various grievances and half-truths. The tagline puts it neatly enough: "Hell, any of them could have done it." Johnson, who has always been drawn to genre as a vehicle for something more ambitious (see his debut Brick for a very early example of that instinct), uses the murder mystery as a frame for a rather pointed look at class, inheritance, and the stories wealthy families tell about themselves.

Johnson wrote as well as directed here, and the screenplay is arguably the engine of the whole thing. His previous studio outing, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, showed he was comfortable handling large, sprawling casts and competing storylines, and that experience is visible in how confidently he juggles the Thrombey household's many competing agendas without losing the thread. The production design leans into the gothic cosiness of the genre, all dark wood panelling, antique weaponry on the walls, and an atmosphere that sits somewhere between a country house and a stage set. It is polished but never sterile, and it suits the material perfectly.

The cast is, frankly, a lot to take in, and that is very much the point. Daniel Craig, best known to most audiences through his Bond work (including Skyfall), plays Blanc with a thick Southern drawl and a theatrical relish that is quite different from anything he has done before. Alongside him, Ana de Armas takes on the role of Marta, Thrombey's nurse, who functions as something closer to the film's moral centre than a conventional suspect. Chris Evans plays against type as a smug, entitled family member, while Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, and Toni Collette round out a household full of people with reasons to want the old man gone. It is, on paper, the kind of ensemble that could easily tip into chaos, and whether Johnson keeps it all under control is really what the film lives or dies by.

Knives Out (2019) is a breath of fresh air in the world of modern whodunits. A sharp, stylish, and cleverly constructed murder mystery that pays homage to Agatha Christie while injecting it with wit, social commentary, and a thoroughly modern edge. Rian Johnson crafts a puzzle box of a film centered around the death of famed crime novelist Harlan Thrombey, with the eccentric, Southern-drawled detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) called in to piece together what really happened. The ensemble cast is stacked (Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, and Toni Collette all shine in their roles) and the family dynamics are as toxic as they are entertaining. Craig is outstanding, completely owning the role of Blanc with charisma, gravitas, and just the right amount of theatrical flair. Toni Collette is a standout too, playing her self-obsessed, Instagram-therapy-quote-spouting character with hilarious precision. The production design is lush, the pacing tight, and the script crackles with smart dialogue and well-timed reveals. That said, for all its strengths, the central mystery is surprisingly predictable. Sharp viewers will likely piece things together well before the final act, which dims some of the suspense. It’s more satisfying thematically than as a true puzzle. Elevated by fantastic performances, stylish direction, and a story that’s as much about class and privilege as it is about murder. A near-great modern mystery that plays it safe where it could’ve taken bigger risks. Still, immensely entertaining and well worth watching, especially if you love your killers served with a side of satire.

For me, that tension between style and substance is what I keep coming back to when I think about this one. The film is so confident, so elegantly put together, that you almost forgive it for pulling its punches in the final stretch. I wanted it to be just a little braver with where it was willing to go, to trust its audience the way its best scenes clearly do. But even with that caveat lodged, it is hard to stay too grumpy about a film this genuinely enjoyable. If you have been waiting for a mystery that treats you like an adult without taking itself too seriously, this is about as good as mainstream cinema is currently offering. Sometimes very good is enough.

Rating: ★★★½  | Year: 2019  | Watched: 2025-12-01

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for Knives Out (2019) on YouTube

Where to watch

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Related on Movies With Macca

More from Rian Johnson: Brick (2005) · Looper (2012) · Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
More with Daniel Craig: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) · Spectre (2015) · Skyfall (2012)
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More comedy: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · Americana (2023) · The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
More crime: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Angst (1983) · Stolen Face (1952) · Cairo Station (1958)