Following the divisive but critically acclaimed Star Wars: The Last Jedi, writer/director Rian Johnson followed up his contribution to the famous space opera with the relatively smaller Knives Out. This modern day detective tale tells the story of a young nurse who gets caught into a downward spiral of lies, crime and riches as she becomes entangled with a selfish and wealthy family.
Johnson is a huge fan of the murder mystery genre, so it’s no surprise that he managed to include many of the tropes that have become associated with any crime thriller. While some of them are expected and easily identifiable, others have been flipped on their head slightly, but are still recognizable in their nature once broken down a little further.
The Protagonist Is A Suspect
Many crime thriller films or shows actually set up the protagonist as a suspect. It’s an easy way to bring the audience into the whole investigation process and set up a point of view character.
For Knives Out, Marta Cabrera is that point of view character. She’s also the chief suspect for most of the film, and she does what she can to clear her name and get to the truth. Without her, the story just wouldn’t have the same structure.
The Eccentric Detective
Most mystery films also has an eccentric detective who has to solve the case. This trope has really been popularized by the creation of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot of Agatha Christie’s works.
Johnson has created Benoit Blanc, an intelligent if unconventional and somewhat anachronistic detective with a deep Southern accent. He’s certainly not like the rest of the police department he works with, which is made evident by the fact that he’s referred to as “the last of the gentleman sleuths.”
There’s A Lie Detector
It’s always interesting to see some kind of lie detector built into the narrative, whether it’s the literal lie detector machine or not. For Knives Out, Marta is actually the perfect tool for Blanc to use, since she cannot lie without throwing up.
Story-based ideas like this allow the audience to detect what’s true and what isn’t, letting them join the fun of solving the mystery with the onscreen detective. Most murder mysteries use them to make big breakthroughs, and Marta is very effective in the script in her role too.
The Murder Occurs On A Family Estate
Murder mysteries are so often linked to extreme wealth, which is usually done in order to give a valuable motive for the murder itself. Crime and money go hand in hand, so the choice to use a family estate is a no-brainer.
With a big mansion, a lot of money up for grabs and a huge family, Knives Out combines a number of different tropes of the genre into one to ensure it pays homage to other classic franchises like Clue.
There’s Plenty Of People To Blame
The idea of setting up this huge family with a big house also means that there’s a lot of people to accuse of murder. The genre works best with plenty of suspects, and Knives Out doesn’t disappoint.
Without a whole range of quirky characters to explore and interrogate, the plot would pretty much be non-existent. There’s plenty of great examples of this throughout history, but this comedic take is certainly one of the best.
The Help Knows More Than They Let On
‘The help,’ as they have become known in this film, is any member of the household who is not a relative and takes care of day to day duties and chores. Traditionally, they hold information that most of the other characters don’t know or realize.
A butler, cook or housemaid is usually the type of character included in this role. In this film’s case, it’s a nurse and a cleaner/house servant who knows more about the plot, with Fran ultimately suffering because of it.
The Dog Has The Key
As is mentioned in the script, a dog is always the best judge of character. They are loyal and innocent souls who can usually help to solve the mystery in other crime thrillers.
In this movie. the dogs actually help to alert Blanc that it was Ransom who they didn’t like – making him the most likely suspect! What’s more, they brought the missing part of the trellis to him, helping him put together many clues.
There’s A Lot Of Secret Rooms
With an old house comes many secrets. Every murder mystery has the very concept of hidden secrets at its very core. This is often manifested in a hidden room in the old house.
Knives Out sees a couple of hidden rooms, corridors and even a false window scattered throughout its central location. With the house inspiring many of the works of the great author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), it needed a number of details to really add to the intrigue.
The Detective Has A Mysterious Benefactor
There’s always a mysterious benefactor who is usually funding the detective. Sometimes this is an interested party who just wants some answers, and other times it’s the victim who is trying to gain retribution.
For Knives Out, there was a little twist that saw Ransom, the criminal himself, hire Benoit Blanc in order to try to frame Marta for his deeds. In doing so, he could get the Harlan’s inheritance while someone else took the fall. It was a shocking but powerful change in the trope.
Heart Outweighs Crime
One of the main themes of this film, which will likely return in the sequel and has been seen in other crime thrillers such as Murder On The Orient Express, is the idea that the heart of a person outweighs their deeds.
Marta is extremely kind-hearted and although Blanc initially thought she was truly responsible for the crime, he was actually planning let her off the hook and rule Harlan’s death as a suicide, demonstrating how strong character can really be.
