*** Spoilers ***

“Knives Out” is a modernised murder mystery in the style of an Agatha Christie novel. Following the death of ridiculously rich Harlan Thrombey on his 85th birthday, his family are all called into questioning by Detective Benoit Blanc who, despite all evidence suggesting suicide, refuses to accept it as so. As the story unfolds, the morality of the whole family is called into question. In fact, ironically, the only character escaping the label of morally corrupt is the supposed “murderer”.

The Family

As with all televised rich families, no one is truly good. Corruption and immorality are rampant. From the adulterer to the mother using her daughter’s tuition money to maintain her lifestyle to the rebellious (and evidently murderous) grandson. This family is plagued by depravity and greed. It’s no wonder that Harlan Thrombey gave away all his fortune to his kind-hearted nurse (Marta Cabrera). These people would do anything if it meant being able to maintain their lifestyle and never having to work to have money.

The movie is full of instances of karmic justice. The adulterer is found out by his wife. The mother using her daughter’s tuition is completely cut off and has no way of supporting her extravagant lifestyle or her daughter’s education. And the grandson that tried to murder his grandfather and frame someone else is arrested by the very person he tried to manipulate.

But mostly, not a single person in this family gets a dime from Harlan Thrombey. They used him for his wealth during his life and in his death, they are completely cut off.

Marta Cabrera

The only character who is, despite the harshest of circumstances, truly good is Marta. She is, at heart, a good person and that is the only thing that saves her. Despite all evidence being set, including her own testimony, to prove her guilty of murder, she isn’t.

The vials of medication she got mixed up had actually been switched beforehand by Harlan’s very own grandson, Ransom, in order to make it seem as though she had given him the wrong medication and killed him via an overdose of morphine. The Slayer rule would then dictate that she would not be able to inherit Harlan’s assets as he had wanted. Ransom, however, did not take into account the fact that as an experienced nurse, giving Harlan his medication was an instinct for her. It didn’t matter that the labels were switched, she instinctively knew which medication to give him.

Ultimately, the only thing that killed Harlan was his refusal to allow Marta to call for an ambulance. If an ambulance had been called like she wanted, they would have found that he’d been given the right medication after all. Him slitting his own throat and carrying out an elaborate plan in order to prevent anyone ever finding out Marta’s “guilt” may have been (I guess) sweet but it’s what actually killed him.

If Marta had had an ounce of greed or self-interest within her, she would’ve lost everything and played right into the hands of this greedy family. Her even hiding the “truth” about Harlan’s death was as a result of wanting to protect her mother. Her selflessness and inability to let others suffer for personal gain is what made Ransom fail. It’s what prevented Benoit Blanc from ever accusing her even while knowing she might have been responsible from the very beginning.

The Message

This movie is not light-hearted. It punches you in the gut just when you think you’ve seen all the bad there is to see. The only thing that makes it worthwhile is its stubborn ideal that good will overcome evil. Despite all of Ransom’s efforts, he failed. And he failed in the way that he didn’t realise that Marta would always choose to do the right thing even if it meant her being arrested and her mother being deported. This movie endorses true goodness and expresses the value that no one, no matter how rich or powerful, no matter how well thought out their plan, can escape karmic justice.

Trailer Review

I don’t normally do this but for this movie, I just couldn’t not. I am honestly so glad that I did not watch the trailers before watching the movie. The trailers were so far off from the tone of the actual movie that it is laughable. Yes, there were comedic elements to the movie but the trailers were downright melodramatic and ludicrous.

This trailer was actually quite entertaining. It didn’t exactly misrepresent the movie so much as give a slightly incorrect impression of just how dramatic and comedic it actually was. Yes, all the scenes in this trailer were actually in the movie and the first minute or so was amazing in its accuracy but the montage that followed was definitely out of order and manipulated what each of the scenes were actually about. It was mostly just the tone that was misrepresented. Basically what I’m trying to say is that the impression I get from watching the trailer is very different to how I felt watching the movie.

This trailer has an element of light heartedness that the movie did not possess. It in no way expressed just how devastating it actually was to experience the story. Harlan Thrombey may have been incredibly rich and 85 but he was a genuinely good person who got stuck with a family that kept using him for his money. He made a sacrifice for the one person in his life who didn’t want to use him and it was all for nothing. And Marta will have to live with the knowledge that he died for her when he didn’t have to. She will have to live with the memory of watching him slit his own throat.

This second trailer is much more true to the film itself. This is the trailer that probably gave the most accurate image of what the movie was going to be about. I don’t really have as much to say about this trailer as I had about the last one.

I feel that with most trailers, they either give away the whole movie or misrepresent it. I know that at this point, most of us are used to it but it still manages to annoy me, especially when done to a really good movie. I am a lot more calm re-watching the trailers and will admit that they are actually good (especially in comparison to the shit show that is some movie trailers). I think watching these trailers right after the emotional roller coaster that was watching the movie made me hate the trailers a little more than was justified. But I stand by my view that not watching the trailers before watching the movie made the experience better.

Conclusion

This was a truly well crafted movie that made me feel a range of emotions and stuck with me long after I’d finished watching it. Obviously, I’m not an expert on film so there were potentially many flaws that I missed. Even so, I am slightly more critical than the average watcher and I have no complaints.

If you haven’t watched this movie yet then 1. I am so sorry that you ignored the spoiler warning and ruined what would have been an incredibly entertaining experience and 2. Please watch it anyway. Unless you hate murder mysteries and emotional rollercoasters, it will be worth your time. I promise.