Small Screen Reviews

Studio:
Lionsgate UK   

What’s It About?
A murder-mystery writer is himself murdered in his own home on his 85th birthday, and his family of  potential miscreants are all suitable suspects. Enter suave Southern detective Benoit Blanc…   

Who’s In It?
Who isn’t?
Daniel Craig (Enduring Love, James Bond, & Logan Lucky)
Christopher Plummer (The Sound Of Music, Beginners, & All The Money In The World)   

Other notables include:
Chris Evans (Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Snowpiercer, & all the Captain America/Avengers movies)
Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween & Halloween (2018), True Lies, & A Fish Called Wanda)   

Director: Rian Johnson (The Brothers Bloom, Looper, & more recently Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi)   

Audiences Expect:
Free from the shackles of 007, Daniel Craig seems like a rejuvenated man. After a great turn in Logan Lucky, he excels once again in Rian Johnson’s whodunit as a wayward freelance detective with a fabulous Southern drawl. And Craig isn’t the only one seemingly having fun in this real romp of a movie.
No doubt inspired by all the classic tongue in cheek Agatha Christie inspired films of yesteryear such as Sleuth, Murder By Death, Haunted Honeymoon or even A Shot In The Dark, Rian Johnson’s film is simply full of fun – with perhaps the director also feeling the relief of a lack of restraints after his time on Star Wars.
The film sees successful crime novelist Harlan Thrombey murdered in his own home on his 85th birthday, and his whole family are potential suspects with disappointing publishing son Walt (Michael Shannon), dubious daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her bum of a husband Richard (Don Johnson), his son Ransom (Chris Evans) the black sheep of the family, social media influencer Joni (Toni Collette) and her troubled teen (Katharine Langford) or even his South American nurse (Ana De Armas).
And it seems there is only one man who can pick his way through this labyrinth of riddles and lies, oddball detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). Beautifully shot essentially in the one location, Rian Johnson has delivered a real romp of a movie, with an exceptional cast and a premise that will keep you guessing. What’s not to love?   

In A Nutshell:
A real romp of a whodunit with a cracking cast, a witty script and first-rate director.     

Highlight:
The cast
The script
The sense of fun   

Lowpoint:
N/A