'Knives Out' (2019)

'Knives Out' was one of those films I wanted to see as soon as I saw the first teaser, something about its style, the implied story grabbed me straight away. However with that being said i had some doubts, Rian Johnson for one has not an entirely amazing back catalogue, this including his recent butchering of the newest Star Wars trilogy. It took me a long time to get around to seeing the film, it was about exiting its run in the cinemas and i booked tickets for its one showing that day on the smallest screen at that cinema. I expected a small turn out, it was quite the opposite, the screen was sold out. I had heard mixed mumblings about the film, a lot of ‘non-film’ people saying great things but then all that was almost refuted by those around me that I would consider as film buffs. However I tried to put all of this out of my mind as I settled into my seat with my popcorn and ice blast.

The film has some award deserving acting first from my own unexpected source of Daniel Craig, a non-favourite of mine in the past, portraying the mysterious detective figure in this grand murder mystery. Viewing the trailer had me worried about him pulling off his southern american accent convincingly throughout the film, and well as maintaining a realism for the character. I need not have worried, not for one second did his character waiver or break my immersion of the film. Truly for this film however my amazement lies in the acting of Ana de Armas, playing our leading lady. I had barely been aware of Ana before this film but for me her performance in 'Knives Out' alone gives her the label of one to watch. I also want to mention amazing performances here by other cast members including Toni Collette, Micheal Shannon and surprisingly even Chris Evans. Overall a fantastically well put together cast.

This film really shines when it comes to the visuals it delivers, from the sets it was filmed on, to the costumes and to a massive extent the use of lighting. Some of the methods used to light this are something I have never seen before, some experimental lighting techniques lead to a very interesting look and incredibly life-like on-screen look, the likes of which we generally don’t see. A round of applause is well deserved for the whole crew who really bought Johnson's vision together, and I think this really shows the effectiveness of working with the same crew. Steve Yedlin, having worked on multiple of Johnson's previous productions knew exactly what he was after, the rapport built between the duo has totally paid off in what they have accomplished in 'Knives Out'. It is obvious that no expense was spared in creating the exact look this film called for.

Another fantastic part of this film lies in its writing. Good writing will also have you on the edge of your seat guessing the next twist and turn, great writing will have you guessing wrong and will surprise you, the astonishing writing of 'Knives Out' goes beyond that. Throughout the film I was pointing my mind's finger, I had figured it out, only to be proven wrong time and time again. Had I not seen this film in the cinema I would repeatedly be giving my thoughts and suspicions of the ending out loud, only to have looked silly being proven wrong not minutes later. I enjoyed the story and writing of this film so much, I had submitted it as my choice for the best original screenplay on my Oscars ballot, I don't dispute Parasite’s deserved win but I genuinely believe Johnson’s masterpiece had a better chance than most gave it.

Overall ‘Knives out’ has ended up being one of my favourite films of the last few years and had 2019 not bought us many other great films it would be easy for me to call this my favourite film of the year. After hearing mixed reviews, it coming from a director I had already written off as ‘bad’ and starring a lead actor who I'd not previously enjoyed performances from, I could not be more surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. For me ‘Knives Out’ is an instant cult classic that I cannot wait to watch again, and again. I sincerely hope Johnson can pull off a similar performance for ‘Knives Out 2’ as I desperately wish for a continuation of this story and the characters contained within it.

9/10.