Michael Olderr, Staff Writer

Knives Out is a thriller and mystery directed by Ryan Johnson, the director of Star Wars: the Last Jedi. Here, he creates a suspenseful, confusing and believable murder mystery. While a bit cliche, it still finds a way to subvert every expectation. The great cast helps this; they propel the film as well as its theme and message to new heights.

The set up for the film is the most important part of immersing your audience into your story, and that is something that Knives Out does masterfully. With it being a murder mystery, it is important that every element of the film be planned out, not to an unreasonable degree, but still in the far side of reasonable doubt. And every single action that has happened in the film can only happen in that way, leaving no room for doubt. Every single plot thread or fabric that the story has is given equal respect and time to develop and answer. There are no loose ends in this mystery: everything that was set up, whether you noticed it or not, all comes together in the end, and it is wondrous. Though the film is pretty predictable, you will still find yourself at the edge of your seat second-guessing yourself up until the very end, and even then youʻre still wrong while also somehow being right. 

Every character’s action is reasonable, and the cast performances could be regarded with sheer believability. Standouts from the cast are Daniel Craig playing the thorough and intelligent detective. One canʻt help but admire his presence on the screen, even if his character isn’t at the complete fore-front of the film. It might be the thick southern accent he has, but who can say? Chris Evans plays a character that is significantly different than roles he had done in previous years, and he pulls it off without a sweat. It’s almost scary how he fits in this role, and he fights away the Captain America persona with each moment he is on screen. 

Then there was Ana de Armas, who despite her placement on the credits screen, is the real star of the film. Her role goes beyond her nurse character and makes larger statements about human morality. Through her, viewers experience some of the movie’s most suspenseful moments. The other actors and actresses plays a different member of a stuck-up rich family, and they too play the morals of those characters well. All of the cast play into the theme of pride. There would be no story if everyone was humble like Ana de Armasʻs character.

Knives Out plays out its mystery with absolute mastery. For people looking to go see it, you can be sure that you’ll enjoy it.