Knives Out. Rian Johnson, dir. (He’s also the screenwriter.) Readers of mystery and crime stories will love this! At times lampooning the genre in general and Dame Agatha’s mystery novels in particular (or is this honoring Christie?), it’s deadly serious too—emphasis on “deadly.”

It follows trailblazer Christie’s standard formula—indeed, the standard formula for most mysteries, even today. A murder is committed, but is it a suicide or a homicide? Local cops think it’s the former. Old man Harlan’s nurse Marta (played by Ana de Armas) thinks she did it. The plot device that she cannot tell a lie without upchucking is used effectively throughout the movie. And PI Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig—work on that southern accent, James Bond) has to gather the clues and make sense out of them. (Note: Ana de Armas will appear with Craig in the new Bond movie.)

Suspects are introduced. They’re all the old man’s family (he’s played by Christopher Plummer), except for the nurse and the housekeeper. Gaps are filled in with flashbacks so the viewer can see more clues, giving the story a more modern veneer. The family is rather dysfunctional too. I thought the masturbating white-supremacist kid was a comical touch (you’d never find that in a Christie novel!); he provided some damning evidence as did other family members. That and the fact that Marta’s mother is an illegal immigrant plop this tale about one-percenters and old wealth right into modern times. To bring mystery-loving writers on board (as if the above isn’t enough), Harlan is a famous old writer of mysteries (that could be real life) who’s filthy rich (that’s mostly fiction—few writers are rich, let alone filthy rich), so the family has a lot to fight over after he dies. Kudos to the screenwriter.

The cast is superb; their acting and the plot hold your interest all the way through. But details are important here. Look for them. Readers of mystery books are good at that, but the visuals might be a bit distracting to amateur sleuths here, unlike in a book. I think I’ll see the movie again on cable if it ever appears there (I don’t use Netflix or any other streaming video service—I’d rather use that money to buy more books to read, or enjoy the big-screen experience). I felt right at home with the Wellesley, MA settings, a different mansion used for inside and outside filming. Lots of old wealth up there in that liberal bastion (why “liberal” doesn’t mean “progressive,” at least not in New England—just consider Ted’s NIMBY attitude toward windmills in Nantucket Bay, to speak ill of the dead, which is appropriate in a mystery sometimes).

Only one complaint (besides Craig’s corn-pone accent), and it’s a big one: The director obviously admires the mystery genre. You’d think with all the good mystery stories out there (one fairly recent one has a similar plot—see below), he’d make his life simple by choosing one of those. Coming up with those twists and turns can’t be easy, but all mystery writers have to have those skills. Do screenwriters think they’re the only ones who can write?

However, if you ever wanted to see a great mystery on the silver screen, even though it might be like one you’ve read before, this is a prime candidate. It’s gotten great reviews. Unfortunately, as in the book business, that doesn’t seem to mean a damn thing anymore.

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Comments are always welcome.

Murder in the One Percent. Shall we tally this in the account of “great minds think alike”? As I was watching the above late 2019 movie, I noted the similarity of the movie’s screenplay with this book that I previously read and reviewed (July 12, 2018; it was published in early 2018 and has won awards since then). In fact, Saralyn Richard’s mystery tale could have been the script for the above movie! Her story also starts with a murder at a birthday party and the suspense builds from there as her Detective Parrott takes on the role of Hercule Poirot. You’ll also find that her story is similar to and better than the movie with its many twists and turns, and going along with the first post this week, she hits the themes of wealth inequality and race a bit more skillfully (Marta is Hispanic; Parrott is black…and Knives Out has only one black actor in its cast). Best of all, Murder in the One Percent is a book, so I could hit the rewind button and pick up those clues I missed. A sequel is now available.

This is one of many great books from the great authors at Black Opal Books, including mysteries. Available in ebook and print format on Amazon or at the publisher, and in ebook format at Smashwords and all the latter’s affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) and lending and library services (Scribd, Overdrive, Baker & Taylor, Gardners, etc.).

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

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