i luv cinema

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • TCMFF 2019
    • TCMFF 2019: Reflections on a Favorite Film Festival
  • Tribeca 2019
    • When Your Time is Short, Go See a Short! (Tribeca 2019)
    • LINDA RONSTADT: The Sound of My Voice
  • London Film Festival 2019
    • BFI London Film Festival 2019 – My 1st Time!
    • The Aeronauts (2019) was Fun (Kinda)
    • Knives Out: A Highlight on My Cinematic Calendar
    • A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: A Review
    • Ford v Ferrari (Le Mans ’66)
  • 100 “Must-See”
  • About Me
Home Reviews Knives Out: A Highlight on My Cinematic Calendar

November 27, 2019 By iluvcinema Leave a Comment

Knives Out: A Highlight on My Cinematic Calendar

With several callbacks to a favored genre of mine – the Agatha Christie-inspired murder-mystery, Knives Out is a personal standout for 2019. It was definitely a favorite of my LFF 2019 experience.

Knives Out
The family says “hi”

With echoes of the 1985 cult classic Clue, Knives Out provides the perfect balance of foreboding and well-executed humor which works for me on so many levels.

Awesome Setting

Writer-director Rian Johnson (yeah, that dude) takes the setting of an isolated mansion and really makes it a prominent character in the story. When needed, the universe expands, but never feels jarring. Even if it is temporary, many films with a primary single setting lose their audience when expanding outside that main set piece. Kudos to the production team for preventing that from happening here.

In terms of the actual visual style, the internal and external environs are slightly ‘overcast’ but not muted. Where vibrancy is needed, the cinematographer and set design allows the colors to jump off the screen.

Great Ensemble Cast

In Hollywood ensemble casts are often only that in name. What I mean by this is that you have a couple of central figures surrounded by several secondary characters.

In this film I did not get that sense at all. Each member of the cast is an essential part of the narrative. And the results (a finely tuned “dance of acting”) are there on the screen. It goes without saying (but I will) that when the story calls for individuals to jump to the fore, they did so without feeling intrusive.

As it pertains to the performances, my favorite thing is that in the context of the scenes, all the actors are playing it straight in the midst of some utterly ridiculous turns in the plot. The result is a heightened sense of comedy.

knives out detectives
The detectives

As the Plot(s) Turn

Speaking of plot turns, I can’t say that many of them were not wholly unexpected. However, it is the various methods of revealing said plot twists that were clever and a joy to watch.

At key points in the film, Johnson relies on an interplay with time. The film moves seamlessly between past and present events as it pushes the story forward. Ultimately, when the mystery at the center is revealed, you can go back and it all makes sense.

An Overall Crowd-Pleaser

Often, I think as a general public, we let the “critical response” of a film, influence our response to it. What this does, unfortunately, is make us forget why many of us still go to the movies. A quality film that also does the business of entertaining us simply ‘because’ is more than worth the price of admission.

And in a world where many movie goers crave and demand fun, original stories, Knives Out (which opens today) delivers the goods and is a delightful, cinematic treat.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: best of 2019, knives out, London Film Festival 2019, rian johnson

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Search

Recommended Read

First True Hitchcock

UC Press, January 2022

Added to My Video Library

Repeat Performance

Centers of Film Study

  • JBFC
  • MoMA Film Screenings
  • The Picture House
  • University of California Press (Cinema and Media Texts)

Fast Film Resources

  • Alfred Hitchcock Wiki
  • Alfred Hitchcock-Master of Suspense
  • Film | The Guardian
  • Kermode & Mayo's Film Reviews
  • Park Circus
  • Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Internet Movie Database
  • Tribeca Film

Film Societies

  • BAMcinématek
  • Film Society of Lincoln Center

This is How We Blogroll

  • BBC Film: The Bulletin
  • Cinematic Corner
  • Comet Over Hollywood
  • Critical Women on Film
  • FlixChatter
  • Future of Flim (Tribeca Film Blog)
  • in so many words …
  • Kermode's Film Blog
  • Paula's Cinema Club
  • Roger Ebert
  • Sobriety Test Movie Reviews
  • Superhero Movie Talk
  • Sweet Freedom

Archives

Tweets by @iluvcinema
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact iluvcinema
totalfilm600movieblogs

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2023, iluvcinema ·Streamline Pro Theme · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in