By Elaine Hegwood Bowen, MSJ
I have grown a penchant for the acting chops of LaKeith Stanfield, and he is currently playing the lead detective in a modern “whodunit” called “Knives Out.” There are other Hollywood favorites and a few old school veterans also in this film that will keep you guessing whether or not the patriarch of the Thrombey family, 85-year-old Harlan, played by veteran actor Christopher Plummer, was murdered or committed suicide, as is assumed.
Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Toni Collette and Ana de Armas, who plays Marta, Harlan’s caretaker, are among other cast members. That’s a slew of folks who are examined and cross-examined after Harlan is found with his throat slit in the bedroom of his palatial country estate.
Stanfield starred in “Get Out,” “Sorry to Bother You,” “ Come Sunday,” “Selma,” “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” and the upcoming “Uncut Gems,” as well as the cable series “Atlanta.”
While Stanfield as Lieutenant Elliott has a good handle on the case, Craig is mysteriously hired in his role as special investigator Benoit Blanc to dig a bit deeper into just what happened to the esteemed mystery writer. Much is at stake—millions in book residuals, revenue and a nice estate—all of which the family members would love to have for themselves. The only glitch is that Harlan fell out with all of his adult children for one reason or another on the night of his birthday party—a few hours before his death. These noisy arguments were overheard by family members who each try to pin the murder on the other. Soon enough, after scenario after scenario and clue after clue are scrutinized, Blanc gets a notion that Marta knows more than she is letting on. This revelation opens the film up to many “throwback” scenes with Harlan that are designed to reveal the real culprit.
The events in this film are very cognizant of one of the contentious themes in Trump’s America, i.e., immigration. After Marta is suspected of the murder and she inherits all of Harlan’s estate, she is fearful that her undocumented relatives will be deported, which exposes her to being blackmailed and forced to consider sharing her good fortune with her deceased boss’ ungrateful, snobbish, greedy offspring. Toward the end, “Knives Out” comes all together, and audience members learn just who put the knife in Harlan’s neck. It is playing everywhere and is great entertainment that is a mystery but plays out as a fine film with great actors who together create a great ensemble piece. Look for it in local theaters.
Elaine Hegwood Bowen, M.S.J., is the Entertainment Editor for the Chicago Crusader newspaper. She is also the author of “Old School Adventures from Englewood–South Side of Chicago.” For book info, [email protected].
