Ever since THE LAST JEDI, Rian Johnson has established himself as a love him or hate him director. The "subverting expectations" auteur has done it again with this excellent whodunnit that isn't really a whodunnit.
Similar to PARASITE, in that it's film within a film, (or to reference Daniel Craig's character, a donut within a donut hole that is itself another donut,) the film subverts genre expectations by revealing "who done it" at the end of the first act.
What follows are hilarious scenes of Ana trying to cover her tracks, before the picture evolves into thriller territory, as we uncover additional mysteries and layers to the story.
Every detail from the set design to prop metaphors (like the fake / collapsing knife) furthers this world as one where - in this living Clue house, nothing is quite what it seems.
The phenomenal cast includes Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, and Christopher Plummer, but it's Daniel Craig's accent and hammy performance that earned the most laughs for me.
The film's true star, Ana de Armas delivers a sweet, muted, doey eyed performance, and has an idiosyncratic character quirk, that furthers the story at funny times.
Beautifully blocked, shot, and lit, Johnson is a master of the craft.
The timely politics elevate the material further, earning it an A+ in my book.
When the horrible family gets whats coming to them and the goodness and smarts of our protagonist prevails, I can't think of a better message in cinema this year.
Be a good person.
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