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PEOPLE & ARTS Wednesday 11 september 2019
Rian Johnson’s razor-sharp ‘Knives Out’ revives the whodunit

By JAKE COYLE acters — like the stuffy old
Associated Press colonel or the butler or the
TORONTO (AP) — The who- free-thinking young wom-
dunit, with its puffy arm- an who’s smoking ciga-
chairs, missing murder rettes — these are charac-
weapons and meandering ters that now we think of
trail of clues, never exactly as entombed in amber as
went out of favor. But in if they’re cliches,” Johnson
“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson said. “But at the time, these
has revived the genre with were caricatures remind-
an affectionate ode to Ag- ing us of types in British so-
atha Christie that has some ciety. So the idea of using
contemporary twists of its that same element of cari-
own. cature in the framework of
“Knives Out” made its rau- this very fun mystery with
cous premiere Saturday a modern American set-
night at the Toronto In- ting, with modern Ameri-
ternational Film Festival, can character types, that
keeping rapt festival audi- seemed like fertile ground.”
ences engrossed in follow- Johnson had the idea
ing Johnson’s clever genre for “Knives Out” about
construction and the film’s 10 years ago and initially
comic and star-studded planned it as his follow-up
ensemble, all of them to 2012’s “Looper.” ‘’Star
crowded throughout a lav- Wars” changed that. John-
ish country manor that one Rian Johnson, writer/director of the film “Knives Out,” poses for a portrait at the St. Regis Hotel son is also developing a
character refers to as “like during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019, in Toronto. new trilogy for the expand-
a Clue board.” Associated Press ing franchise.
The crime is the apparent grant nurse, whose nation- particularly those with Pe- out there. Whenever I say ‘I “It wasn’t a break in the
suicide of the wealthy crime ality none of the family can ter Ustinov as Poirot, such just made a whodunit mur- sense of ‘Oh god, I’ve got
novelist Harlan Thrombey get right and who can’t as “Death on the Nile” and der mystery,’ there’s a little to get out this Star Wars
(Christopher Plummer). But help but vomit every time “Evil Under the Sun.” glint in people’s eyes.” machine,’” said Johnson
the famous detective Ben- she tells a lie. He even counts himself a “Knives Out,” which Lion- of “Knives Out.” ‘’But there
oit Blanc (Daniel Craig, a Johnson, whose last film fan of the recent Adam sgate will release Nov. 27, was something really nice
kind of Louisiana-accented was the contentious “Star Sandler-Jennifer Aniston faithfully abides many of about the contrast of do-
version of Christie’s Hercule Wars” installment “The Last Netflix film “Murder Mys- the traditions of the who- ing a very dialogue-based
Poirot) suspects foul play, Jedi,” has already put his tery.” dunit while playfully invert- movie. I could hire all these
and he has a colorful cast deconstructionist touch on “I just love the genre,” John- ing others. Though saying fantastic actors and give
of family members and film noir (“Brick”) and sci- son said in an interview. much would spoil the fun, them a lot of words. It’s just
others to investigate includ- fi (“Looper”). But his love “Even though it’s sort of a the mysteries of “Knives been an essential part of
ing Chris Evans, Jamie Lee of whodunits runs deep. niche corner of a genre, I Out” hover around issues ‘Star Wars’ to some degree
Curtis, Don Johnson and He grew up reading Chris- feel like it’s a genre people of class disparity and immi- you’re always trying to fig-
Ana de Armas. Armas plays tie paperbacks and loving love disproportionate to gration. ure out the simplest way to
Thrombey’s faithful immi- their film adaptations — the amount of stuff that’s “A lot of Christie’s char- say any thought.”q

Charli XCX, pop’s avant-garde

princess, returns

By MARK KENNEDY future (“2099”) and at her fer some typically addic-
Associated Press intimate present (“Febru- tive pop tracks with “Cross
Charli XCX, “Charli” (Atlan- ary 2017”). It can’t even be You Out” and a subdued
tic Records) contained in one language “Warm.” She’s even res-
Charli XCX could easily — French, Portuguese and urrected an old song —
have turned in a safe, hit- Korean are heard. “Track 10” — cleaned it up,
heavy pop-dance album Reunited with longtime pro- added the incomparable
this year. But where’s the ducer A.G. Cook, her col- Lizzo and offered it anew
fun in that? If Jack White is laborators this time include as “Blame It on Your Love.”
the mad scientist of rock, Lizzo, Christine and the The standout “1999,” a
Charli XCX is the one for Queens, HAIM, Troye Sivan, warmly nostalgic, Britney
pop, a peripatetic mixolo- Brooke Candy, CupcakKe, Spears-ish look at key pop
gist and collaborator who Big Freedia, Sky Ferreira, culture icons of the ‘90s, is This cover image released by Atlantic Records shows “Charli,” a
seems happiest pushing Clairo and Yaeji. Charli helped plenty by Sivan hys- release by Charli XCX.
the boundaries of what a XCX, born Charlotte Aitchi- terically crushing on Jona- Associated Press
three-minute song can do. son, already achieved than Taylor Thomas. stuck in a blender and left chorus or lacks one, a sig-
She wonderfully doesn’t pure pop perfection in the But the coolest parts of the in a monsoon. nal of what may happen in
color within the lines. past with “Boom Clap” and album are when Charli XCX Charli XCX has heard the this Spotify era. And the last
The fascinating 15-track “Fancy” and simply repli- goes to the next level, like future and has bookended song — “2099,” with Sivan
“Charli” has the artist look- cating that seems to bore on “Click” and “Shake It,” her album with it. The first again — is a glorious, anar-
ing back with fondness her. which aren’t really songs song — “Next Level Char- chic idea at what pop will
(“1999”), peering into the Of course, she does of- as much as they are robots li” — is either just one long sound like in 80 years.q