The Driftwood #27: Movie Recs

April 28, 2022

Mystery Movies 

When Wisconsin skies are gray and rainy but before flowers have made their appearance, I like to dub this time “Sherlock Season”. It might be because mysteries feel cryptic and grim. This is why our pseudo spring is perfect for cozying up in front of a good old mystery. This time around, we have some movies that will inevitably turn you into an amateur sleuth.


Knives Out

Knives Out is a clever interpretation of the classic whodunit mystery plot. Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is a famous crime novelist, and his dead body has been found in the attic study of his sprawling Victorian mansion. Police officers are ready to rule Thrombey’s slit throat a suicide when Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) enters the scene. The movie manages to turn into a double mystery when we find out Blanc received an anonymous envelope with money and a news clipping of the murder. Who killed Thrombey and who tipped off Blanc?

True to the genre, we have a cast of likely suspects. There is Thrombey’s eldest daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis), a successful businesswoman whose marriage to Richard (Don Johnson) is not what it seems. Their son Ransom (Chris Evans), oozing of entitlement and sporting the kind of chunky knits that broke the internet, was seen arguing with his grandfather the night before his death. We also can’t discount Walt (Michael Shannon), a disgruntled son who might lose control of Thrombey’s publishing house. And for good measure, we have Joni (Toni Collette)—a widowed daughter-in-law not afraid of using sticky fingers to fund her guru lifestyle. Thrown into the mayhem of a dysfunctional family with an inheritance at stake is Marta (Ana de Armas). She’s Thrombey’s nurse and, perhaps, only genuine friend. Marta’s cursed with the inability to tell a lie (she vomits any time she tells one), making her an ideal ally for Blanc. There is whole lot of cloak-and-dagger going on, and Blanc must crack the case.

Complete with a star-studded ensemble, the movie has the right amount of social satire and suspense. And just when you think you’ve figured it out, Knives Out delivers one final, satisfying twist. Available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Enola Holmes

Enola Holmes is a fresh, lighthearted take on the Sherlock Holmes canon. Enola’s (Millie Bobbie Brown) upbringing by her mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter) is anything but standard for a woman in the Victorian era. She is taught history, science, literature, and jiu-jitsu. Life for Enola goes suddenly awry when she wakes up on her sixteenth birthday to find her mother missing. Now she must live with her older brothers, Mycroft (Sam Claflin) and Sherlock (Henry Cavill). Both brothers, unimpressed by her ambition, want to ship her off to boarding school where she will learn how to be a proper lady. Enola knows better; after all, Eudora taught her to be an independent thinker. Enola escapes to London, vowing to uncover her mother’s mysterious disappearance. Along the way, she meets a young lord also on the run from an unwanted destiny with a mystery of his own.

Puzzles aren’t the only thing Enola runs into. England battles toward change with suffragettes pushing for equality. Enola is equal parts detective and activist. I’ll admit, I was skeptical going into Enola Holmes. The movie’s mystery is less calculating than previous Sherlock portrayals, but it’s a lovely rendition full of charm and heart. Available to stream on Netflix.