THERE’S SOMETHING comforting about the whodunit, its promise that every question will be answered in the end by a perceptive gumshoe who sets the world to right. Rian Johnson, the filmmaker most responsible for making the musty genre hip again, likes to point out that, historically, it has been popular in times of uncertainty. Knives Out, his unexpected 2019 hit about the death of a famous novelist, was decidedly a product of the Trump presidency with a plucky immigrant heroine pitted against the victim’s entitled family. His follow-up is underscored by another destabilizing event: Set during a weekend getaway on a private Greek island owned by tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton), the movie takes place (and was written) during those delirious early months of the pandemic. Even Johnson’s southern-fried shamus, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), is having a tough time in lockdown, having beaten a retreat to his bathtub until a new case lands on his doorstep.
This story is from the January 02, 2023 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 02, 2023 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Enchanting and Exhausting
Wicked makes a charming but bloated film.
Nicole Kidman Lets Loose
She's having a grand old time playing wealthy matriarchs on the verge of blowing their lives up.
How Mike Myers Makes His Own Reality
Directing him in Austin Powers taught me what it means to be really, truly funny.
The Art of Surrender
Four decades into his career, Willem Dafoe is more curious about his craft than ever.
The Big Macher Restaurant Is Back
ON A WARM NIGHT in October, a red carpet ran down a length of East 26th Street.
Showing Its Age
Borgo displays a confidence that can he only from experience.
Keeping It Simple on Lower Fifth
Jack Ceglic and Manuel Fernandez-Casteleiro's apartment is full of stories but not distractions.
REASON TO LOVE NEW YORK
THERE'S NOT MUCH in New York that has staying power. Every other day, a new scandal outscandals whatever we were just scandalized by; every few years, a hotter, scarier downtown set emerges; the yoga studio up the block from your apartment that used to be a coffee shop has now become a hybrid drug front and yarn store.
Disunion: Ingrid Rojas Contreras
A Rift in the Family My in-laws gave me a book by a eugenicist. Our relationship is over.
Gwen Whiting
Two years after a mass recall and a bacterial outbreak, the founder of the Laundress is on cleanup duty.