Knives Out is a modern whodunnit film written and directed by Rian Johnson, produced in collaboration with his longtime partner Ram Bergman. The film blends classical Agatha Christie–style structure with contemporary themes of class, wealth, and immigration.
Released in 2019, the film stars Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc, as well as Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer.
Premise[]
Harlan Thrombey, the wealthy patriarch of The Thrombey Family is found dead after his 85th birthday party, and when eccentric detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously hired to investigate, he uncovers a tangle of lies, resentments, and hidden motives within the dysfunctional Thrombey family; as Blanc follows the trail, he zeroes in on Harlan’s kindhearted nurse Marta Cabrera, whose involvement is far more complicated than anyone realizes, leading to a final revelation that exposes a calculated scheme and upends the family’s grip on power.
Production[]
Knives Out was announced in September 2018. Daniel Craig was announced to be the leading man. The film was sold to distributors during the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. In October 2018, Chris Evans, Lakeith Stanfield, Michael Shannon, Ana de Armas, Don Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Toni Collette joined the cast.In November 2018, Christopher Plummer, Jaeden Martell, Katherine Langford, Riki Lindhome, and Edi Patterson joined the cast.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Director | Rian Johnson |
| Writer | Rian Johnson |
| Producers | Ram Bergman; Rian Johnson |
| Cinematography | Steve Yedlin |
| Editing | Bob Ducsay |
| Music | Nathan Johnson |
| Production Companies | MRC; T-Street Productions; Ram Bergman Productions |
| Budget | $40 million |
| Principal Photography | October–December 2018 |
| Filming Locations | Suburban Boston, Massachusetts |
| Funding Notes | Supported by Massachusetts state tax subsidies |
| Premiere | Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019. |
| U.S. Release | November 27, 2019 (Lionsgate) |
| Running Time | 130 minutes |
| Box Office | $312.9 million |
Plot Narrative[]
The family of Harlan Thrombey, a wealthy mystery novelist, travel to his mansion in Massachusetts to attend his 85th birthday party. The next morning, Harlan is found dead with his throat slit. Detective Lieutenant Elliot and Trooper Wagner arrive to investigate and believe that Harlan's death is a suicide, but an external private detective is anonymously hired to investigate the matter further. The new investigator's name is Benoit Blanc.
Blanc finds out that Harlan had strained relationships with his family. On the day of Harlan's death, he threatened to expose his son-in-law Richard for cheating on his daughter Linda, cut off his daughter-in-law Joni's allowance for stealing from him, fired his son Walt from his publishing company, and had a fight with his grandson Ransom.
Later that evening, Harlan's nurse, Marta, accidentally mixed up his medications. This made her think that she was the one who overdosed him with morphine. She couldn't find the antidote, which left Harlan only minutes to live. Wanting to save Marta's family from scrutiny since her mother didn't have a legal immigration status, Harlan gave her instructions to create a false alibi and then cut his own throat.
Harlan's mother saw Marta carrying out his instructions but mistook her for Ransom. Marta cannot lie without vomiting, so she gives accurate but incomplete answers when questioned. She agrees to assist Blanc's investigation and conceals evidence of her actions. When Harlan's will is read, Marta is the sole beneficiary. The family is furious. Ransom helps Marta escape them, but he manipulates her into confessing to him. Ransom offers help in exchange for some of the inheritance. The other family members try to persuade Marta to renounce the inheritance. Walt goes so far as to threaten to expose her mother's immigration status.
Marta gets a blackmail note with a partial photocopy of Harlan's toxicology report. She and Ransom drive to the medical examiner's office, but it has burned down. Marta gets an email proposing a meet up with the blackmailer. Blanc and the police spot them, and after a brief car chase, Ransom is arrested.
Blanc explains that Harlan's mother saw Ransom climbing down from Harlan's room the night he died. At the meet up, Marta finds Fran who is passed out from being drugged. She performs CPR and calls an ambulance. She confesses everything to Blanc and decides to tell the family that she caused Harlan's death, which would invalidate the will under the slayer rule.
Back at the house, Marta finds a copy of the full toxicology report in Fran's weed stash. She gives it to Det. Blanc without reading it herself, and Blanc sees that it shows only minor amounts of morphine in Harlan's system and interrupts Marta before she can confess. Blanc reveals his deductions to the detectives, Marta, and Ransom.
After Ransom found out that Harlan was leaving everything to Marta, he swapped the contents of Harlan's medication vials and stole the antidote so that Marta would kill Harlan and thus become ineligible to claim the inheritance. But Marta actually gave Harlan the correct medication, subconsciously recognizing it by its viscosity, and she only thought she had poisoned him after reading the label.
When the death was reported as a suicide, Ransom hired Blanc to expose Marta. Fran saw Ransom tampering with the crime scene and sent him the blackmail note. After Ransom realized Marta was not responsible for Harlan's death, but Marta still thought she was, he forwarded the letter to Marta and burned down the medical examiner's office to destroy evidence of her innocence. He overdosed Fran with morphine, again trying to frame Marta.
Marta gets a call and tells the rest that Fran survived and will implicate Ransom. Ransom is upset that his attempt to kill Fran failed, but takes comfort knowing his lawyers will help him escape attempted murder charges. Marta throws up on him, revealing that she lied because Fran is actually dead. Realizing he has confessed to the murder, Ransom attacks Marta with a knife from Harlan's collection, which turns out to be a retractable stage knife. The police arrest him.
Linda finds a note from Harlan about her husband's adultery. Blanc tells Marta he suspected early on that she played a part in Harlan's death, noting blood on her shoe. As Ransom is taken into custody, Marta watches from the balcony of the mansion, with the rest of the family gathered outside.
Cast[]
- Main article: Knives Out Cast
Main[]
- Daniel Craig as Det. Benoit Blanc
- Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera
- Christopher Plummer as Harlan Thrombey
- Chris Evans as Ransom Drysdale
- Katherine Langford as Meg Thrombey
- Jamie Lee Curtis as Linda Drysdale
- Don Johnson as Richard Drysdale
- Michael Shannon as Walt Thrombey
- Toni Collette as Joni Thrombey
- Riki Lindhome as Donna Thrombey
- Jaeden Martell as Jacob Thrombey
- Lakeith Stanfield as Detective Lieutenant Elliott
Appearances[]
Locations[]
Events[]
Items[]
Vehicles[]
Sentient Species[]
- Humans
Creatures[]
- Dogs
Organizations[]
Mentioned[]
Music[]
- Main article: Knives Out (soundtrack)
Gallery[]
Promotional Photos[]
Trailers[]
Trivia[]
- Knives Out was heavily inspired by the Whodunit genre, A whodunit (or whodunnit) is a plot-driven subgenre of detective fiction centered on solving a mystery—typically a murder—by identifying the perpetrator through clues provided to both the detective and the audience. It features a dual narrative structure: one unfolding in real time and another reconstructing the crime, allowing readers to deduce alongside the investigator. Popularized during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction (1910s–1940s), whodunits often involve eccentric sleuths, closed-circle settings, and red herrings. Variants include the howdunnit (where the criminal is known but the method is revealed gradually), the whydunit (focusing on motive), and parody forms that playfully subvert genre conventions.