Revisited - Knives Out (2019)

So this movie was a difficult one to rate. After so many people recommended it to me as well hearing nonstop talk about it on social media platforms, I decided to watch it after finding it on Amazon Prime. The movie has great acting and great characters but the thing that made me not give it a 10/10 score is it's plot. The plot is fantastic but I knew who the bad guy would be in the end as well as I wish the other characters had more involvement in the movie than just side pieces to cover the true so called killer of the film but nevertheless besides all that, the film is rather good in my opinion and almost reaches gold status.

Knives Out is a 2019 American mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Johnson and Ram Bergman. A modern whodunit, the film follows a family gathering gone awry, after the patriarch's death leads a master detective to investigate. The film features an ensemble cast, including Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer.

Knives Out had its world premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 27, 2019, by Lionsgate. The film received critical acclaim, particularly for its screenplay, direction, and acting, and grossed $309.2 million worldwide against a $40 million budget. At the 77th Golden Globe Awards, the film received three nominations in the Musical or Comedy category: Best Motion Picture, Best Actor for Craig, and Best Actress for de Armas. It also received Best Original Screenplay nominations at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards and 92nd Academy Awards. It was also selected by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2019.

Wealthy crime novelist Harlan Thrombey invites his family to his Massachusetts mansion for his 85th birthday party. The next morning, Harlan's housekeeper Fran finds him dead, with his throat slit. The police believe it was suicide, but an anonymous party pays private eye Benoit Blanc to investigate.

Blanc learns that Harlan's relationships with his family were strained: he threatened to expose his son-in-law Richard for cheating on his wife, Harlan's daughter Linda; cut off his daughter-in-law Joni's allowance for stealing from him; fired his son Walt from his publishing company; and had an altercation with his grandson Ransom.

Unbeknownst to Blanc, after the party, Harlan's nurse Marta Cabrera apparently accidentally administered him an overdose of morphine instead of his usual medication and could not find the antidote, leaving Harlan minutes to live. Knowing that Marta's mother is an illegal alien, Harlan prevented her from calling for help and instead gave her instructions to create a false alibi to save her family from scrutiny. Harlan then slit his own throat. Harlan's elderly mother saw Marta carrying out Harlan's instructions but mistook her for Ransom.

Marta cannot lie without vomiting, so she gives true but incomplete answers when Blanc questions her. After agreeing to assist in Blanc's investigation, Marta conceals evidence of her actions as they search the property.

Harlan's will is read: to everyone's astonishment, he left everything to Marta. Ransom helps her escape the family's wrath. Ransom coerces Marta into confessing to him and offers his help in exchange for a share of the inheritance. The other Thrombeys try to persuade Marta to renounce the inheritance; Walt threatens to expose her mother.

Marta receives an anonymous blackmail note with a partial photocopy of Harlan's toxicology report. She and Ransom drive to the medical examiner's office, but the building has been destroyed by arson. Marta receives an anonymous email proposing a rendezvous with the blackmailer. Blanc and the police spot Marta and Ransom, and after a brief car chase, Ransom is arrested; Blanc explains that Harlan's mother saw Ransom climbing down from Harlan's room the night he died.

Marta goes to the rendezvous and discovers Fran drugged. Marta hesitates, realizing that Fran can link her to the crime, but performs CPR on Fran and calls 911. Marta confesses to Blanc, but Ransom has already informed on her. At the house, Marta finds a copy of the full toxicology report hidden in Fran's cannabis stash. Blanc reads it and interrupts Marta before she can confess to the family that her error caused Harlan's death.

Blanc reveals his deductions: Ransom had learned that Harlan was leaving everything to Marta; he swapped the contents of Harlan's medication vials and stole the antidote so Marta would kill Harlan with a morphine overdose, making her ineligible to claim the inheritance by the slayer rule. However, Marta actually administered the correct medication, recognizing it by its appearance without reading the label, and therefore is innocent of Harlan's death.

After the death was reported a suicide, Ransom anonymously hired Blanc to expose Marta as a murderer. Fran later saw Ransom hiding evidence and sent him the blackmail note. Realizing that Marta had unknowingly given Harlan the correct medication but believed herself guilty, Ransom forwarded the note to Marta. He burned down the medical examiner's office to destroy evidence of Marta's innocence. Finally, he overdosed Fran with morphine and emailed her location to Marta, planning to frame Marta for Fran's murder.

Marta tricks Ransom into confessing by lying that Fran has survived and will implicate him; after he confesses and vows revenge, she vomits on him, revealing that Fran has in fact died. Enraged, he attacks her with what turns out to be a retractable stage knife. Having recorded Ransom's confession, the police arrest him.

Blanc reveals to Marta that he realized early on that she played a part in Harlan's death, noting a small spot of blood on one of her shoes. Linda finds a note from Harlan revealing her husband's adultery. As Ransom is taken into custody, Marta watches the Thrombeys from the balcony of what is now her mansion.

Overall, this film is great and it almost makes me want to give it a perfect score but it's too readable. The movie is very colorful and a fun joyride to go on but for me at least it was a joyride where I knew what twists and turns were going to happen. The only twist that threw me off was Frans death but I eventually deduced the culprit before it was shown to me. This movie is defiantly worth a watch for it does a great job in revitalizing the crime and mystery genre, so go out and watch. However, I still haven't forgiven you Rian Johnson for The Last Jedi. This has been Revisited, thanks for reading. Ricardo Signing Off