When you can’t afford Benoit Blank, you get “The Relegation” [RECENZJA]

The creators of “Inheritance” do not even pretend to be the source of inspiration. In Polish film, 95 percent the plot is a copy of the already famous “Knives Out” by Rian Johnson – the director and screenwriters clearly liked the series, because “The Fall” does not have any innovations, but has situational jokes and gags slightly adapted to Polish conditions. And there’s not an ounce of ease or fun in it.

The complete family or “Inheritance”

If you have watched “Knives Out”, nothing in “The Inheritance” will surprise you. If by any chance you haven’t watched the fantastic hit from 2019, which already has a second part, and in about a year there will be a third part, I’d like to briefly summarize it. A wealthy elderly man invites a conflicted family to his estate. When he dies, the entire family happens to be present, so the will can be read immediately. However, the millionaire left his loved ones absolutely nothing – in the last years of his life he decided to leave his fortune to a person who had little in common with them. It quickly turns out that the sudden death of the family elder is not an accident. And so detective Benoit Blanc appears on the scene, unraveling the Gordian knot case, revealing rather disgusting family secrets and illuminating conflicts.

We move to “Inheritance”. An elderly man invites his relatives to his estate to read his will – the family is convinced that the rich man really died. This turns out to be untrue – he is alive, but after one night this situation changes 180 degrees. The search for the perpetrator begins, because he is one of the people who came to the castle, and intense considerations about the inheritance begin. It will be given to the person who solves the puzzle left by the deceased.

“Inheritance” is “Knives Out” on the cheap

Everything possible was taken from “Knives Out”. There is a large estate, there are other family members who are trying to make the most of this strange situation, there are typical teenagers (a rebellious 16-year-old and a withdrawn 13-year-old), there is a mature woman experiencing a second sexual youth, there is a gay couple, and there is an eccentric uncle. .. In addition, Rafał Zawierucha appears, pretending to be almost Benoit Blank. Of course, it is not a 1:1 copy, just a variation, but it is impossible to avoid associations when the film has a similar color palette and scenography. It was not possible to repeat everything 100 percent, because there was clearly enough money only for photos in the castle (or rather a studio pretending to be a castle) and for a smaller number of family members than in the original “Knives Out”. The motive was slightly modified and someone else was named as the killer, but the meaning remains basically the same.

And no, the possible explanation that similar mechanisms can be seen in Agatha Christie will not help. There are too many connections with Rian Johnson – a sharp joke, some extremely similar shots, quick editing, contradictory statements following one another, as if discussing with each other, the involvement of one of the people in the investigation without the knowledge of the others. These are not coincidences.

‘The Fall’ / Netflix Netflix / Przemek Pączkowski

The problem would be much smaller if crime fiction had something to defend itself. It actually has great set design, but we’ve already seen it in “Knives Out.” He’d probably have some funny jokes if we hadn’t already heard them in “1670”, where they were much, much better. The crime mystery would have been more fun if it had been more like “Murder on the Orient Express” – more brutal and bloody than fun. The concept of a mansion with hidden passages would be amusing if this motif was not common in most titles of this type (here I especially recommend “The Buried Game”), and if it was used for something innovative, and not just for discreet eavesdropping on conversations. This title would also defend itself if it was immediately assumed that it would be a crime story for children – but there is too much sex and too much vulgarity, so this category is also out. So what we got was neither a gripping crime story, nor a family film, nor a suspenseful drama, nor a complicated story. No wonder the production was rated “unusual” on Netflix – it really says a lot.

And yet there are also some really excellent Polish actors playing here! Gabriela Muskała is great as an official who looks greedily at her fortune. Adam Ferency and Jan Peszek are a hilarious duo of master and servant, Joanna Trzepiecińska and Piotr Pacek are classy. Unfortunately, “Inheritance” is not exciting and is exactly what the title says: “Inheritance” after better, stronger film originals. It’s a pity, because we had a chance for a Polish answer to the devastatingly clever Rian Johnson, but what we got was boiled water after hits from years ago.