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.

Video-background
8.1s
I accidentally switched them back, so I gave Harlan... The correct doses. Yes.

Knives Out

Video-background
1.7s
But not accidentally.

Knives Out

Video-background
3.2s
I taped over the label of these two vials.

Knives Out

Video-background
2.8s
The vials themselves are identical.

Knives Out

Video-background
9.9s
How'd you know this was the morphine? I just knew. You knew because there is the slightest, almost imperceptible differences of tincture and viscosity between the two liquids.

Knives Out

Video-background
3.4s
You knew because you've done it a hundred times.

Knives Out

Video-background
4.8s
You gave him the correct medication because you are a good nurse.

Knives Out

Video-background
3.4s
Then Harlan was... I'm sorry, Marta. But yes.

Knives Out

Video-background
2.4s
- Harlan was perfectly fine. - Oh, my God.

Knives Out

Video-background
19.7s
His blood was normal. The cause of death was truly, solely suicide, and you are guilty of nothing but some damage to the trellis and a few amateur theatrics. In fact, if Harlan had listened to you and called the ambulance, he would be alive today.

Knives Out

Video-background
12.2s
Damn! A twisted web and we are not finished untangling it. Not yet. Marta, when Greatnana spotted you climbing down the trellis, she said...

Knives Out

Video-background
8.2s
Ransom? Are you back again already? "Are you back again already?" 'Cause earlier that night...

Knives Out

Video-background
2.5s
Ransom, you're back?

Knives Out

Video-background
15s
Come on, Marta. This is stoopid with two o's. You don't have a shred of evidence, you're just spinning a fairy tale. Not a shred, no. Just as we have no real proof of Marta mixing up the vials, so it's your word... You have her confession!

Knives Out

Video-background
1.7s
All right, yeah.

Knives Out

Video-background
13.4s
Yeah, we do have that. With your permission, I'd like to spin a little further. Much later that night, you'd have to come back to the house... to retrieve the incriminating tampered vials. However, this time the dogs were outside.

Knives Out

Video-background
12.5s
They barked, waking Meg. No matter. You'll get the vials tomorrow. But tomorrow brings news... Not of a medical error and a guilty nurse, but of a slit throat and a suicide.

Knives Out

Video-background
12.1s
Now the circumstances are perfect for the anonymous hirin' of me. You know a crime has been committed by Miss Cabrera, you need her to be caught for it. You cannot reveal how you know.

Knives Out

Video-background
5.8s
Enter... Benoit Blanc. Benny, look... I hear what you're saying, but this...

Knives Out

Video-background
22.5s
The body is discovered early the next morning. The police, the medical examiner, the family, everyone swarms in and there is no possible way you can get to Marta's medical bag to retrieve the vials. You must wait for your moment, when the investigation is over and you know the house will be empty. And that is why you missed the funeral.

Knives Out