KNIVES OUT

KNIVES OUT is a dark comedy mystery about a dysfunctional family trying to discover the truth about their wealthy father and his mysterious death. KNIVES OUT is funny and unpredictable, and ultimately extols doing the right thing, but it has lots of foul language, some lewd content and brief marijuana use.

Harlan Thrombey has built his fortune by writing and publishing many mystery novels that were a big hit. His son, Walt, took over his publishing company, but the two were always at odds with the direction of the company, because Walt wanted to sell the film rights, but Harlan didn’t. Harlan’s daughter, Linda, accepted a one million dollar loan from her father to start her own real estate business, to which she forced her husband to sign a pre-nuptual agreement. Each of the children went on to produce a few grandchildren, who grew up spoiled and very accustomed to being provided for by their wealthy grandfather. Toward the end of his life, Harlan’s health began to deteriorate, and he hired a nurse, Marta, to take care of him, as well as provide him with some much-needed companionship.

One day, the family receives the dreadful news that their beloved father and grandfather has slit his own throat, killing himself. The police arrive immediately to question the family about their whereabouts and alibis during the time of his death. All of their stories seem to line up perfectly, and the police are ready to conclude the investigation as a suicide, but one thing prevents them from doing so. A man by the name of Benoit Blanc has come on the scene, a private investigator who’s been paid to look further into Harlan’s death. Blanc was hired by an anonymous client when he found an envelope of cash and a newspaper clipping of Harlan’s death on his doorstep. He listens to the stories of everyone in the family, but he focuses on the testimony of one person in particular, the nurse, Marta.

From playing a game with the family before, they learned that lying, or even the thought of lying, causes Marta to experience extreme nausea, making her vomiting immediately. Blanc begins by asking her a few sensitive questions about the family that only she would know by way of her talks with Harlan. She couldn’t hold in her vomit, bringing to light that Harlan recently cut off multiple family members from financial support.

Blanc elects Marta to be his “Watson” in this investigation, and they begin right away. She accompanies the detective and the two police officers to the security office and around the property looking for any kind of clue. However, Marta has a huge secret that, if it came out, could put her entire family’s livelihood at stake. However, Marta has a pure and good heart, and when she inevitably reveals her big secret, it sends the family on more turns than they could possibly imagine. Although lies are tempting, Marta truly knows in her heart that the truth will set her free more than anything.

This dark comedy is packed with all-star, veteran actors. Sometimes that’s a sign for a weak story and an empty script. In this case, the script is full of intelligent and creative humor, with performances that only compliment and strengthen each other. It’s more than what’s expected when approaching this movie, and the many twists in the story are unpredictable. Viewers will find the movie to be a surprisingly good time. Even better, KNIVES OUT has a strong moral worldview with redemptive messages which assert that telling the truth and doing what is right won’t lead to negative consequences. Even though she often has an easier way out of the many sticky situations in the story, the nurse sticks to her morals and conscience, and it leads only to good.

Despite that, KNIVES OUT is marred by lots of foul language, brief lewd content and light drug references. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.