Chekhov’s Knives: How Knives Out Modernizes a Murder Mystery
A famous mystery writer gets his throat slit in his own home from an apparent suicide. An eccentric private eye hired by an unknown benefactor investigates the case. The suspect list comprises of nearly every member of the writer’s family. The P.I enlists the help of Marta, the family nurse, who may or may not have been the murderer. Knives Out, directed by Rian Johnson, is one of the best murder mysteries in recent years. It breathes life into a stagnating genre by adhering to the traditional whodunnit framework while subverting genre tropes to tell a unique story. It features a star-studded cast of Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Lakeith Stanfield. It’s interesting the buzz it has picked up considering slow churning mysteries don’t have much appeal in the box office. The similar Murder on the Orient Express, released two years ago, failed to compete with other films and ranked third in the box office. The majority of its audience consisted of moviegoers thirty-five and older. However, Knives Out tells a different story with considerable social media attention and a 97 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film garnered an opening weekend profit of 41.7 million, doubling their expectations and finishing second before Frozen II. Knives Out’s ability to compete with a major Disney sequel is impressive. Its acclaimed cast helped attract attention where Chris Evans, coming off the Avengers hype, managed to get the film trending on Twitter. The film also released during Thanksgiving weekend where there wasn't much competing blockbusters, allowing Knives Out to secure its cut of moviegoers. But above all, the best reason for Knives Out's success is simple. It's a good movie.
Knives Out succeeds by taking a different route on a familiar setup. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. By crafting a light-hearted atmosphere with a colorful palette, it creates an inherent charm to the movie. Knives Out takes the best parts of a traditional murder mystery but sheds off old fashioned tropes. The typical mysterious and reclusive detective is replaced with Daniel Craig's friendly and oafish P.I who remains calculated nonetheless. It's also interesting how the protagonist, Marta, quickly becomes revealed to the viewers as the "killer." This allows her to play both the roles of the "murderer" and the detective's "watson” simultaneously. The film also demands the viewer’s attention by emphasizing the importance of detail, leaving no loose threads by successfully connecting every clue. The idea of Chekhov’s gun is taken to the extreme. The literary principle could be placed back to writer Anton Chekhov who mentioned the device multiple times in a series of letters stating "One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn't going to go off. It's wrong to make promises you don't mean to keep." In essence, every object or subplot that is emphasized in the story should serve a purpose. Although the absolute necessity of Chekhov's gun has been contested, it works perfectly in the murder mystery movie. It allows the viewers to see connections and hidden clues in hindsight. An offhand comment about Chris Evans' character being unable to distinguish a real knife from a prop becomes important when he attempts to murder the protagonist with a fake knife. A blood stain on the protagonist's shoes, shown in a forgotten frame, is brought up later as the real reason she was chosen to be the detective's assistant. A hidden weed stash played as a joke during the beginning of the film becomes the device that allows Marta to discover the hidden conspiracy plotted against her. Every detail weaved into the plot reveals its significance later on. Offhand comments, forgotten objects, hidden doors all culminate in the film’s resolution that satisfyingly wraps up the film.
What’s more interesting is how Knives Out makes itself relevant in today’s political landscape. Knives Out seems timeless. However, the political commentary dates the movie in a way that makes the story much more poignant. Similar to the intricate details weaved into the plot, the film subtly implements commentary on American classism and xenophobia. Marta, the protagonist, is the daughter of an undocumented immigrant from Latin America who is constantly propped up by the snobby upper-class family as an example of “a proper immigrant” iterating the “one of the good ones” rhetoric that acts as a defense for xenophobic views. The family also posits themselves as “self-made”, a label that multimillionaires often give themselves, ignoring a wealthy lineage that has enabled their success. Beyond the family’s surface-level appreciation for Marta lies roots of casual racism and classism. Marta is a registered nurse, yet the family instinctively treats her as a maid, assigning her chores without a second thought. The praise for her “hardworking attitude” dissipates when, shockingly, it’s revealed Marta received every asset in the writer’s will. Accusations and threats to expose her family’s undocumented status emerge instantly.With the film framing Marta as a murderer, Knives Out shows viewers a constant fear that plagues undocumented families. Marta, despite being the closest person to the deceased writer, also wasn’t invited to the family funeral. Several members of the family insist they wanted her there but were “outvoted.” It reflects similar parallels with the 2016 election results where thousands of people silently voted for Donald Trump without publicly voicing their views. In the end, Marta has the option to revoke her inheritance and return it to the family but she ultimately keeps it. The positions of power flip as Marta gazes down on them from the balcony of her new home. The film then cuts away, leaving it open-ended if Marta shows them a kindness that they neglected her. By holding up a reflection of American politics, Knives Out tells a murder mystery suited for the times.
