Watch the trailer Written by: Rian Johnson Directed by:Rian Johnson Starring: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Christopher Plummer, Katherine Langford Rated: PG-13
Plot A private eye investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.
Verdict This is a twisting mystery that will keep you guessing and entertained. Actors get to have a lot of fun with their roles, and the whimsy obscures just how good the writing is. It's a smart movie that has a place for all the pieces. I don't know if I enjoyed Daniel Craig of Chris Evans chewing of the scenery more. Watch it.
Review This starts off as a series of interviews with the family of the recently deceased Harlan Thrombey. The interviews are cross cut as the detective asks mostly the same questions of each family member. We learn in flashbacks that everyone is lying and thus everyone is a suspect.
Daniel Craig plays Benoit Blanc.
Benoit Blanc is a private eye helping the cops. In his first few lines he tells the family they'll hardly know he's there. That's not true, and there are a lot of subtle jokes like that in the movie and even more I'm sure I missed. All of Harlan's kids have motive as he was paying for their lifestyles and the inheritance was looking pretty good.
I was surprised the reveal came so early (I won't spoil it), but the movie doesn't end there. The reveal goes much deeper, and this movie keeps you guessing. At one point I wondered if Harlan had faked his death, as unlikely as that would be.
Chris Evans plays Ransom.
Daniel Craig is great as Benoit with his southern drawl. I anticipate his contemplation of donuts and donut holes is going to be oft quoted. At one point he's described as "CSI KFC" by Chris Evans who plays Ransom and has some great lines and nails the delivery. We don't see much of him until the second half, but he had to be having a lot of fun as he delivers insults rapid fire. He has a great entrance.
The dialog is absolutely great. With all of these established actors Ana de Armas gets a lot of screen time as Marta and does a great job. She was Harlan's nurse and friend. The family all promise they'll take care of her once they get the inheritance, but we soon see the family's greed. They're quick to turn on Marta when they think she might get a part of the inheritance. Benoit's investigation was ridiculous when it might affect them, but now they want him to turn on Marta. It was all pretense, which was easy to guess as not a one of them knows from which country she immigrated. She's "family" up until she gets in the way. Marta has a unique condition where she becomes nauseous if she lies. It's an intriguing concept for a murder mystery movie and used to great effect.
Don Johnson plays Richard.
The greed and pettiness of the family adds another layer to this mystery as they're at first presented as successful and self made until we learn that Harlan footed all the bills with little appreciation. Ransom's told by his parents being cut out of the inheritance will be the best thing for him, but when his parents are also cut out his retort of 'it will be good for them' can't be comprehended. While the mystery drives the plot, it's the character development that fuels the story.
This is mystery on top of mystery, and I wouldn't have guessed I'd be rooting for the killer. It's ingenious how Marta did, but didn't kill Harlan. She realizes after she injects him that she delivered a lethal does of morphine. Benoit points out that the reason she mixed up the medicine is that she didn't need to look at the labels. She knew by the appearance and viscosity which was which. It wasn't until she looked at the label she realized her mistake. What she didn't know was that Ransom switched the labels. Harlan wasn't close to death at all and really did commit suicide, albeit under duress.
The big reveal is great. I figured Marta was lying about Fran's status and guess her inability to lie would come into affect. I did not expect Ransom to attack her, mistakenly picking up a stage knife.
Benoit knew Marta was involved from the very beginning, but as he mentions had to find the missing piece of information at the center of this donut.
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