Daniel Craig’s ‘Knives Out’ Will Keep You Guessing – And Make You Look Inward, Too
By: Laura Bennett
While Daniel Craig is the best Bond, it’s nice to know he can be the best at other things too.
Knives Out is a classic ‘whodunit’. When 85 year old patriarch Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) dies at the end of his birthday party, his eccentric and argumentative family are all suspected of murder, and Detective Benoit Blanc (Craig), must put the pieces together to find out who killed dear old Dad.
With his Southern accent and ability to lurk, and a witty perceptiveness that cuts through all batting eyelashes, Blanc rivals Hercule Poroit as this generation’s favourite detective… But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; this isn’t a franchise. Daniel’s probably too busy prepping Idris Elba for 007* (*because Idris Elba should be 007, but this isn’t fact yet).
If it were to be a franchise though, it would be one full of crazy rich families with heirlooms that could be weapons – hello, wall-of-ancient-of-ancient-knives, creepy vintage statues, and too many creaky steps to keep track of.
When The Love of Money Cultivates Evil
I can’t say more about the plot without spoiling it, but what I can say is, as each member of the Thrombey family are interviewed, we learn just how bad peoples’ behaviour can get when money’s involved. They’d all like to think it’s not a driving factor for their love of Harlan, but – from the son who’s disenchanted by how his dad runs the family business, to the sister-in-law slighted by divorce – money’s influenced how each of them treat him.
Knives Out triggers a re-evaluation of your own family dynamics, too. All households have past hurts and misspoken words that can fester below the surface, but if the Thrombey family can teach us anything, it’s that those should be addressed before they become motives for murder. If they get that far, they’ve clearly gone way too far!
Knives Out takes patience and concentration – and at 130mins it might outlast the attention span of some viewers – but with a stellar cast including Toni Collett, Jamie Lee-Curtis and Chris Evans, it’s a slow burn worth the night out.
Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.
About the Author: Laura is a media professional, broadcaster and writer from Sydney, Australia.
