Harland
Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is a best-selling mystery author whose family
gathers for a special birthday. When he
winds up dead and his wealthy estate up for grabs, is foul play involved?
Enter renowned detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) whose passive style and
technique belies a meticulous mind that gathers information through a series of
interviews with the family members culminating in a grand denouement with all
the principals gathered.
Craig
has a ball heading a stellar ensemble (Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Toni Collette,
Ana De Armas, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, and more). We get character sketches of scheming family
members, each with an hidden agenda beneath a facade.
The tight screenplay serves
up not only as a wonderful murder mystery with a sly sense of humor but has a
dash of Hitchcockian overtones as the audience is drawn into complicity with a
key character. It follows in the tradition of
classic mystery novels, a kind of cross between Murder on the Orient Express and Murder by Death in the best sense. The plot uses a familiar device by reconstructing
parallel events sprinkled with left turns and an ending that should be
supremely satisfying, particularly when it vindicates the good in people.
Director/writer
Rían Johnson (Looper) has fashioned a
joyous mystery romp that hopefully will lead to more adventures with Craig. An joyful
confection from start to finish.
****
of **** stars
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