Knives Out Movie Cast. Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc: Benoit is a private detective called upon to investigate Harlan’s murder.; Chris Evans as Hugh Ransom Drysdale: Hugh is Harlan’s grandson, the son of Linda and Richard, he is a spoilt playboy who is hated by his own family.; Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera: Marta is Harlan’s nurse and caretaker who has a close relationship with him. When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan’s dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan’s.
‘Knives Out’ has been elaborately categorized as an ensemble black comedy-thriller. However, at its core, the movie is a murder mystery that promises to tug at the boundaries of the genre, and break it down, only to rebuild it. Aptly, it has been labeled as a modern take on the mystery genre. The basic plot is about a dysfunctional family that comes together for a gathering to find that things have gone horribly wrong when the patriarch shows up dead. A master detective shows up to investigate, only to become increasingly baffled by the case.
Knives Out—In theaters November 27, 2019. Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, LaKeith Sta.
The film comes from Rian Johnson, who started off on a similar note, making the fantastic movie ‘Brick’. However, his directorial debut channeled the noir vibes to a high school setting. ‘Brick’ makes it clear that Johnson knows his mystery genre well enough to shake things up. However, while ‘Brick’ is a clear homage to hardboiled writers like Dashiell Hammett, ‘Knives Out’ has been structured like a classic locked-room mystery with a limited number of suspects, which is a trademark of Agatha Christie.
The movie promises to be an entertaining watch and one that will certainly keep us guessing as the filmmaker gradually reveals all the pieces on the table like a magician setting up a grand act. We are definitely excited to see how the star-studded cast accentuates the plot with their performances. Thus, without much ado, we bring you everything that we know about ‘Knives Out’, the upcoming film.
Knives Out Plot: What Is It About?
‘Knives Out’ follows acclaimed and wealthy crime novelist, Harlan Thrombey. For his 85th birthday, he invites the members of his dysfunctional family to attend a gathering at his remote mansion. The hope is to reunite them all. However, the next day after the birthday party, Harlan is found dead by the members of the family.
This is where the Christie-like locked room mystery begins to add the features of a classic whodunnit, as masterfully portrayed by Alfred Hitchcock. We get the inkling that everything might not be as it seems when lead detective Lieutenant Elliott is more than eager to write off the death as an overly dramatic suicide. He believes that Harlan slit his own throat. Despite this, the investigation reveals that the party on the night before had its share of shouting matches and confrontations among various members of the self-righteous and largely indignant Thrombey family. Finally, an experienced private investigator, Benoit Blanc, is called to get to the bottom of the case. However, he soon becomes flustered as he comes to realize that everyone might be a suspect in the possible murder.
At its core, ‘Knives Out’ asks who committed the murder, but through the investigation, we are made aware of the household tensions that exist between different members of the family. We come across a bevy of fascinating characters like Harlan’s meek nurse, Marta, who vomits uncontrollably whenever she lies. This seems to be a particularly disadvantageous medical condition to have when one is caught up in a murder investigation and is likely to be privy to the secrets of other family members.
We are also introduced to Ransom Drysdale-Thrombey, the black sheep of the family, who everyone considers to be a troublemaker. It is abundantly clear that every member of the household has some motive or the other to want Harlan dead. The only question that Blanc must ask himself is who actually went through with the deed. ‘Knives Out’ becomes a study in the grievances the members have towards Harlan, which springs from the kind of relationship he shared with them. It also explores how the members react differently to Harlan’s death and process the grief.
Overall, it promises to be a somewhat serious plot with occasional comic streaks, making for an overall enjoyable experience.
Knives Out Cast: Who Is In It?
Cast Knives Out Movie 2019
‘Knives Out’ has an immensely star-studded cast that is bound to make your head spin. Christopher Plummer appears as Harlan, the victim, while Daniel Craig appears as Benoit Blanc, the detective. Notably, Craig’s performance with a Southern drawl and infinite warmth and patience is a far cry from his portrayal in the James Bond movies. There are several other key characters like Harlan’s maid, who has a bad reaction to lying. Ana de Armas appears as the maid, Marta Cabrera. Chris Evans of the MCU movies appears as the black sheep of the family, Ransom Drysdale-Thrombey.
However, the cast does not simply end here. The members of the Thrombey family are portrayed by talented actors. Jamie Lee Curtis plays Linda Drysdale-Thrombey, Michael Shannon is seen as Walter “Walt” Thrombey, Don Johnson appears as Richard Drysdale-Thrombey, Toni Collette plays Joni Thrombey, while Katherine Langford is seen as Meg Thrombey. Lakeith Stanfield plays the role of Detective Lieutenant Elliot, who is eager to put the case to bed.
Knives Out Crew: Who Is Behind It?
Rian Johnson is directing ‘Knives Out’ and the story comes from him as well. Notably, the director made his mark with ‘Star Wars‘ films, besides directing ‘Looper‘ and some of the best episodes of ‘Breaking Bad‘ including ‘Ozymandias’. Johnson is co-producing with Ram Bergman. Steve Yedlin is the man behind the camera, and the entire project is being distributed by Lionsgate.
Knives Out Release Date: When Will It Premiere?
‘Knives Out’ has already made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019. However, the movie is getting its theatrical release on November 27, 2019.
Knives Out Trailer:
Cast Knives Out Movie 2020
You can check out the trailer of ‘Knives Out’ below. It provides a dizzying look into the various members of the dysfunctional Thrombey family as Blanc quizzes them all about their motives, trying to understand concretely who slit Harlan’s throat, killing the old man.
Read More: All Upcoming Daniel Craig Movies
Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is a wildly successful mystery writer and he’s dead. His housekeeper Fran (Edi Patterson) finds him with a slit throat and the knife still in his hand. It looks like suicide, but there are some questions. After all, who really slits their own throat? A couple of cops (the wonderful pair of LaKeith Stanfield and Noah Segan) come to the Thrombey estate do a small investigation, just to make sure they’re not missing anything, and the film opens with their conversations with each of the Thrombey family members. Daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a successful businesswoman with a shit husband named Richard (Don Johnson) and an awful son named Ransom (Chris Evans). Son Walt (Michael Shannon) runs the publishing side, but he’s been fighting a lot with dear old dad. Daughter-in-law Joni (Toni Collette) is deep into self-help but has been helping herself by ripping off the old man. Finally, there’s Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), the real heroine of “Knives Out” and Harlan’s most trusted confidante. Can she help solve the case?
The case may have just been closed if not for the arrival of the famous detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, who spins a southern drawl and oversized ego into something instantly memorable. Blanc was delivered a news story about the suicide and envelope of money. So someone thinks this is fishy. Why? And who? The question of who brought in Blanc drives the narrative as much as who killed Harlan. Johnson is constantly presenting viewers with the familiar, especially fans of the mystery movie—the single palatial setting, the family of monsters, the exaggerated detective—but then he subverts them every so slightly, and it feels fresh. So while Blanc feels like a Poirot riff, Johnson and Craig avoid turning it into a caricature of something we’ve seen before.
Craig is delightful—I love the excitement in his voice when he figures things out late in the film—but some of the cast gets lost. It’s inevitable with one this big, but if you’re going to “Knives Out” for a specific actor or actress, be aware that it’s a large ensemble piece and your fave may get short shrift. Unless your favorite is Ana de Armas, who is really the heart of the movie, allowing Johnson to imbue “Knives Out” with some wonderful political commentary. The Thrombeys claim to love Marta, even if they can’t remember which South American country she comes from, and Don Johnson gets a few razor sharp scenes as the kind of guy who rants about immigration before quoting “Hamilton.” It’s not embedded in the entire piece as much as “Get Out,” but this “Out” is similar in the way it uses genre structure to say something about wealth and social inequality. And in terms of performance, the often-promising de Armas has never been handed a role this big, and she totally delivers.