Knives Out
Knives Out is a 2019 American mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson. Daniel Craig leads an eleven-actor ensemble cast as Benoit Blanc, famed private detective summoned to investigate the death of bestselling author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). Although police rule Harlan's case a suicide, Blanc suspects foul play and examines a host of clues and deceptive red herrings to ascertain his true manner of death. Johnson produced Knives Out with longtime collaborator Ram Bergman. Lionsgate managed the film's commercial distribution, and funding was sourced through MRC and a multimillion-dollar tax subsidy from the Massachusetts state government. Johnson conceived Knives Out in the mid-2000s. Seeking to modernize the whodunit films of the mid-twentieth century, the director was inspired by his interest in big-screen movie adaptations of Agatha Christie's stories. Johnson then shifted his attention to creation of his 2017 film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, halting further progress on Knives Out. Development resumed the following year when Johnson wrote the screenplay in six or seven months. He devised a framework of tonal shifts to escalate tension between the characters, and informed elements of the story with his experience coping with intense culture war backlash to The Last Jedi. Principal photography began in October 2018 on a $40 million budget and wrapped that December. Shooting took place on location in suburban Boston. Nathan Johnson composed the film's classical score, which drew on an eclectic array of his and Rian's favorite symphonic movie scores. Knives Out has been read as work that investigates class warfare, wealth inequality, immigration, and race in contemporary American society. Knives Out premiered at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and was distributed to American theaters on November 27 to major critical and commercial success. It was chosen as one of the year's top films by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute, and finished the theatrical run grossing $312.9 million at the global box office. Critics distinguished the film's plot and actors for praise, though some aspects of the writing and performance drew criticism. Knives Out was nominated for multiple awards, among them three Golden Globes, a BAFTA, and an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Knives Out is the first entry of a franchise that includes two more films—Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) and Wake Up Dead Man, set for release in 2025.
- I... - Excuse me! You have not been good to her. You have all treated her like shit, to steal back a fortune that you lost, and she deserves. You're a pack of vultures at the feast! Knives out, beaks bloody! Well... You're not getting bailed out, not this time. Ms. Cabrera has decided, definitively, not to renounce the inheritance. - What? - What? Furthermore, it will be my professional recommendation to the local authorities that the manner of death in the case of Harlan Thrombey is ruled as suicide! - And the case is closed. - Blanc? What? Thank you all for coming. Goodbye. What's going on? Just tell me... That's certainly not what I was expecting. No. Is anybody else confused? Not what I was expecting to hear at all.
Knives Out
Are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on? Yes. Yes. I just wanna come clean, okay? - It's over. - Almost. Blanc, what are we doing? - What's going on? - I'm sorry. Officer Wagner. Keep the family out of this room, and get 'em out of the house if you can. But stand by with your additional officer. Get the family out? Yes, but not all of them. Would you... Thank you. - Blanc... - Yes, sir. Come on, come on, what's all this drama? - Indulge me. - Blanc, I told Ransom, Ransom told you, and I'm telling you now, it is an immovable fact that I killed Harlan. Yes, you did, yes, he did, yes, you are. But... But, I spoke in the car about the hole at the center of this donut. And what you and Harlan did that fateful night seems at first glance to fill that hole perfectly. A donut hole in a donut's hole. But we must look a little closer. And when we do, we see the donut hole has a hole in its center. It is not a donut hole, but a smaller donut with its own hole and our donut is not whole at all! Blanc, look, I understand that this is amusing for you... Why was I hired?
Knives Out
Why would someone hire me? Someone fishing for a crime to reverse the will, Blanc. Come on. But I was hired before the sealed will was read. So, yes, the person must have known the contents of the will. But one step further, that same person must have known a crime was committed, and further... If the intent was to reverse Marta's inheritance, they must have known that Marta was responsible. An intriguing combination of factors. Someone who knew what Marta did wanted to expose it but could not reveal how they knew. Fran! She was blackmailing me. She knew what I did. Yeah, but Fran wanted money, ergo she did not want the crime exposed. What if someone in the family had observed Marta doing something suspicious? But they would have had no reason not to speak up.
Knives Out