Knives Out is a remarkable murder mystery. Not only did it prove to be one of the greatest movies that premiered during Thanksgiving last year, but it also raked in over $300 million at the global box office. In a day and age of reboots, sequels, and prequels, this is no small feat.
Fans of director Rian Johnson were not disappointed by his latest outing and there is more to be gleaned from his commentary. Here are a few things we learned while listening to his commentary. (If you haven’t already seen this fantastic film, do yourself a big favor and go watch it right now. Spoilers abound from this point.)
Don’t Let It Snow!
No matter how well prepared you are as a director, you can’t plan for everything. One particularly concerning issue to Johnson during filming was possible snow that would affect how the mansion looked from the exterior. Given that it was fall when the shoot for Knives Out began, there was a real concern that snow would come in and throw off continuity.
Surprisingly, despite the shoot going into December of 2018, it never snowed. Though the amount of visible leaves changes throughout the film, Johnson was lucky enough to not have to worry about editing out snow at the Thrombey estate.
First 30 Pages
Sometimes writers will follow the notes they get from others reviewing the script, but not always. One of the most frequent notes that Johnson received on the script for Knives Out was that the first 30 pages were difficult to follow with all the characters being introduced.
Johnson believed that once they were shot and could put faces to the names, the audience would be able to follow what was happening. It wasn’t until the editing process that they decided to add character names during the interviews to help the audiences keep track.
A Subtle Accent
Accents are not always an easy thing to develop or maintain for actors. But for Daniel Craig (Benoit Blanc), it was something he decided to become completely committed to.
Despite Johnson’s script only calling for a “subtle Southern accent,” Craig found inspiration in historian Shelby Foote and decided to imitate his accent for Blanc. Johnson would try and do the accent from time to time when the cameras weren’t rolling when Craig wasn’t around and he didn’t appreciate it much.
Great Nana’s Makeup
As impressive as CGI has come to improve in the last few decades, it’s also been remarkable to see the wizardry of makeup and costuming as well. It might seem that K Callan, who played Great Nana (Harlan Thrombey’s mother), wouldn’t have needed more than a minute or two in the makeup trailer given that she is covered by so much clothing and a large hat. But her makeup alone took two hours every day!
Callan is actually several years younger than Christopher Plummer, who plays Harlan Thrombey, and had to be aged further to appear old enough to be his mother. Props to the makeup department on this movie!
Johnson Is A Hallmark Movie Fan
Johnson has made some fairly dark movies, Brick and Looper most notably, in his career, so it was surprising to discover that he and his wife, Karina Longworth, are big Hallmark movie fans. This fandom led to the discovery and subsequent love of frequent Hallmark-movie actor Danica McKellar.
During a scene where Fran approaches Marta, Fran mentions a fake Hallmark film starring McKellar. At the time of recording the commentary, Johnson didn’t think McKellar had starred in any Hallmark mystery film, but it turns out, she actually did star in Matchmaker Mysteries: A Killer Engagement. Someone let Johnson know this movie exists!
The Film Initially Received An R Rating
Contrary to what it may seem, it is not always easy to obtain a PG-13 rating. When Johnson decided that this was the rating he wanted, the script had to be edited to remove some F-bombs.
When it came time to shoot Harlan Thrombey’s suicide scene, there was a more significant “splash” as Johnson put it. Unfortunately, this gave the film an R rating and he had to go back and edit the scene so that no blood is seen and it is dependent upon suggestion.
Ransom Was Deliberately Held Back In Introductions
Knives Out features a murderer’s row of fantastic actors, almost all of which are introduced at the beginning of the film when the police are questioning the family about Harlan Thrombey’s murder. There is one individual that is only briefly seen and not introduced until halfway through the film: Ransom Drysdale.
Johnson knew that all the characters would be a lot to take in and didn’t want Ransom to get lost in the chaos as he brings his own level of chaos to the game. Johnson knew the charisma that Evans would bring and decided it would be best to wait until later.
Edi Patterson Is The GOAT
With the advances in CGI over the last few decades, it is remarkable what kind of movie magic can still be created for little things. In the scene where Marta discovers Fran in the basement of a laundromat, though, none was used for the spider that crawls across her face.
Johnson forgot to ask Edi Patterson what her level of comfort was with spiders and was afraid she wouldn’t do the scene. Patterson proved to be up to the challenge and managed to remain completely still with a giant spider crawling across her face. Way to go, Patterson! Some of us couldn’t be in the same room as that spider, let alone have it crawl across our faces.
The Donut Hole Scene Almost Didn’t Happen
One of the reasons that Knives Out makes for a great rewatch is that there are more layers to the mystery where we least expect them. Just when we feel like we know everything there is to know about the mystery, we discover more than we expected to learn.
Perhaps the most notable scene that does this is when Benoit Blanc does his “donut hole speech” after looking at the toxicology report for Harlan Thrombey. Johnson admitted in the commentary that this almost didn’t make it into the movie because he thought it might be too hokey. But when he discussed it with Daniel Craig, they decided to take a crack at it and see. It’s really hard to imagine the movie without this scene now.
Knife Donut!
Speaking of donut holes, there’s another part of this we didn’t put together until listening to Johnson’s commentary. The infamous ring of knives is seen throughout the film, most visibly in the initial interviews with the family.
It is not until Benoit Blanc goes on off on his “donut hole speech” that someone, Blanc, is seen directly in the center of the hole in the ring. Whoa! Nice one, Johnson!
