Knives Out used an ingenious trick to revive the crime genre

At first glance Knife out seems to be an average, classic crime thriller that fits perfectly with Agatha Christie films like Murder on the Orient Express or the hilarious enigmatic Notice. But nothing could be further from the truth. Knife out has proven to be one of the most complex and exciting crime thrillers of the last decade. How could this be, since this film comes from a fairly formulaic genre? Well, Knife out managed to deceive the audience into believing there was no mystery at all. The whole case was explained in the first act. A crime thriller where the audience already knew who it wasan extremely bold idea that elevates this film and the crime genre to today's level.

This expert storytelling is thanks to the brilliant, creative minds behind the scenes, especially writer and director Rian Johnson. He was involved in everything from breaking Bad To Star Wars: The Last Jediand ventured his first foray into the mystery genre in 2005 with brickstarring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Knife outJohnson has managed to seamlessly turn the crime format on its head. Since his monumental release, the crime genre has had to raise its performance to a whole new level, especially as audiences become increasingly hungry for fresh new takes on the classic genre.

Knives Out reveals the killer's identity after 30 minutes

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The 10 best crime films since 2015, ranking

While there have been some great crime films released, films like The Batman and The Nice Guys have defined the genre since 2015.

In a star-studded cast, from Jamie Lee Curtis to Chris Evans, Daniel Craig shone as a charismatic, curious Benoit Blanc, basically the modern Sherlock Holmes with southern charm. Since he's the investigator, you'd naturally assume he's the hero of the story. However, this film went above and beyond to technically misrepresent that fact.

Knives Out initially seemed to follow the tried and tested path of all successful crime films – a suspenseful murder mystery solved by a passionate detective who deciphers the clues and interrogates suspects to find the killer. But as the first act came to a close, the film shockingly seemed to reveal absolutely everything. The victim, Harlan Thrombey, played by Christopher Plummer, took his own life after his nurse Marta, played by Ana de Armas, accidentally administered a lethal dose of medicine to him. To protect Marta from her tragic, innocent mistake, he finished the job himself and let Marta escape as if Harlan had been murdered. Suddenly, before halfway through, Who, what, when, where, why and how were made completely clear. The audience knew everything they would need to know if it had been an average crime thriller. What happened next?

The audience now followed Marta as narrator, taking over Benoit Blanc's role, as she tried to avoid detection by the rest of Harlan's greedy family, the police, and Detective Benoit Blanc. Suddenly, the person everyone had thought was the protagonist became the antagonist.

There's a great scene where Marta finds Blanc outside the house after all the cards are on the table. If the audience weren't any wiser, they'd be under the impression that the detective was simply talking to a suspect. But now that the focus had shifted to Marta, Blanc almost seemed like a villain planning his next move. Even the way he lit his cigar seemed intimidating and scary. The Sherlock Holmes of this crime novel has now become the antagonist.

Rian Johnson cleverly moved the revelation of the perpetrator into the first act and increased Knife out into a completely different film. It became a dangerous game of cat and mouse, with the audience cheering for the “murderer” to get away because their story is so sympathetic and relatable. It's absolutely brilliant. Especially seeing how the audience is lulled into a false sense of security, thinking that nothing else is going on other than the obvious case. But of course, with great mysteries, there's always more than meets the eye.

This mystery concealed the fact that it is a mystery

• Throughout the film, Harlan Thrombey's portrait displays a stoic, grim demeanor. When Marta and Benoit finally solve the case, the portrait smiles.
• Although he is in Knife outK Callan is six years younger than Christopher Plummer.

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Chris Evans has starred in many great films, from action thrillers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to crime films with huge twists.

It takes a particularly versatile actor to play the culprit in a crime thriller. Not only do they have to be deliciously evil, but they also have to convince any sharp-eyed investigator that they are behind the crime. And since Chris Evans had a monumental year with Avengers: Endgamethere couldn't be a better choice for the role of the killer in this film.

Evans played Ransom, the deceased's grandson and seemingly the obvious murderer from the start. He was portrayed as a greedy, arrogant character who was disliked by the rest of the family. He was even heard arguing with the victim about his will on the night of the murder. Ransom should have been the prime suspect, but as the audience knew full well, Marta was the “murderer.” As far as the audience knew, Ransom couldn't possibly have committed the crime.

Halfway through the film, Ransom supposedly changed his mind and saved Marta after learning the truth. Ransom was shown in a new light, appearing as a misunderstood rich kid. This can be seen as another attempt at diversion by Johnson, once again tricking the audience into believing that the classic crime cliche of the obvious perpetrator has been subverted.

The best part of any great crime thriller is the crucial reveal. Benoit Blanc famously described this case as a doughnut hole within a doughnut hole, a silly but complex way of describing the film's multi-layered mystery. Initially, this case seemed straightforward, and the audience was tricked into believing that all the answers were obvious. However, as the story progressed, it became clear that Marta's story was another clever misdirection. The killer is the obvious suspect that the audience would have been guessing all along if it weren't for the first act reveal.

Ransom was the real perpetrator of the crimeswho had tricked Marta in the first place in order to get the money that his grandfather had left in his will. This unexpected twist not only redefines the whole mystery, but also underlines the film's genius in playing with genre conventions.

In an average crime thriller, this would have been a great scene with fun flashbacks to clues and jokes, and the detective would have closed the case with plenty of flair and a big bow. And that's exactly what's given, but this twist also brings an even greater sense of satisfaction as the film reveals that this case was unsolved all along. Not only does the audience find out who the killer was and how he almost got away with it, but also that this was a mystery after all. It's impressive to write a good crime thriller at all, but a crime thriller that manages to make the audience believe there is no crime thriller has to be on a whole other level.

Knives Out is a perfect crime thriller

10 Stars Who Should Be in the Next Knives Out Movie

Given the resounding success of “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion,” fans are eagerly speculating about which stars will appear in the third film.

There is a reason why both this film and its incredible 2022 sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Crime Thrillerwere nominated for Best Screenplay at their respective Oscars. Although they didn't win, their stories are still so masterfully preserved and crafted. It helps that Benoit Blanc delivers one of the modern standout performances in a sea of ​​iconic characters, especially given that the highly anticipated next entry in Benoit's story, Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Crime Novelwill be available on Netflix in 2025. Everything couldn't have gone better.

So much so that it seems that more and more films and television shows with mystery themes have been created and are still running today. Shows like The after-party, Elsbeth And Only murders in the buildingto name just a few, all have the same love and appreciation for the mystery genre as Knife out while maintaining a fresh perspective on the ideas and tropes. The continued success of Kenneth Branagh's Hercule Poirot films can be attributed in part to the new light Knife out brought.

And although Benoit Blanc (the only recurring character from Knife out) came in the sequel to solve the case as a clear protagonist this time, Rian Johnson was still able to subvert expectations in Glass of onion and once again defy the mystery tropes. Johnson also created a completely different kind of mystery series with Poker facetells the life of a woman who, ironically, always seems to be in the right place at the right time when it comes to murder. The success of Knife out has definitely breathed new life into the crime genre. It has created an even larger fan base for these types of stories and fueled anticipation for many more exciting, mysterious adventures.

Knife out

A detective investigates the death of the patriarch of an eccentric, quarrelsome family.

director

Rian Johnson

Release date

27 November 2019

Pour

Toni Collette, Ana De Armas, Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon

Duration

2 hours 10 minutes