Film : Knives Out (2019)

Knives Out

Knives Out is a 2019 American mystery film written, produced, and directed by Rian Johnson. A modern whodunit, the film follows a family gathering gone awry, after the family patriarch's death leads a master detective to investigate.

Wealthy crime novelist Harlan Thrombey invites his family to his Massachusetts mansion for his 85th birthday party. The next morning, Harlan's housekeeper Fran finds him dead, with his throat slit. The police are convinced that Harlan's death is a suicide, but an anonymous party pays private detective Benoit Blanc to investigate.

Blanc learns that Harlan had alienated many of his family: he had threatened to expose his son-in-law Richard for cheating on his wife Linda, cut off his daughter-in-law Joni's allowance for stealing from him, fired his youngest son Walt from his publishing company, and had an altercation with his grandson Ransom.

Unknown to Blanc, after the party, Harlan's nurse Marta Cabrera accidentally administered him an overdose of morphine instead of his usual pain medication and was unable to find the antidote, leaving Harlan minutes to live. Harlan gave Marta instructions to create a false alibi to avoid suspicion for causing his death; he then slit his own throat. Marta carried out Harlan's instructions but was seen by Harlan's elderly mother, who mistook her for Ransom.

Marta cannot lie without vomiting, so she gives true but incomplete answers when Blanc questions her. Blanc asks her to assist his investigation. As they search the property, Marta attempts to conceal evidence.

At the reading of Harlan's will, the family discovers that he left everything to Marta. They turn on her, but Ransom helps her escape. Ransom persuades Marta to confess to him and offers to help her in exchange for his share of the inheritance. The other Thrombeys try to persuade Marta to renounce her inheritance; Walt threatens to expose her mother as an undocumented immigrant.

Marta receives an anonymous blackmail note with a partial photocopy of Harlan's toxicology report. She and Ransom drive to the medical examiner's office, but it has been destroyed in a fire. Marta receives an email with a time and address to meet the blackmailer. Blanc and the police, also investigating the destroyed medical examiner's office, spot Marta and Ransom. After a brief car chase, the police arrest Ransom; Blanc explains to Marta that Harlan's mother saw Ransom climbing down from Harlan's room on the night of his death.

Marta goes to the address in the email and discovers Fran drugged, along with her missing medical case. Marta hesitates, realizing that Fran can link her to the crime, but performs CPR on Fran and calls 911. Marta confesses to Blanc, but Ransom has already informed on her. At the house, Marta finds a copy of the full toxicology report hidden in Fran's cannabis stash. Marta is about to confess to the family that she caused Harlan's death, but Blanc interrupts her after reading the report.

Blanc reveals his deductions to Marta, Ransom, and the police: After Ransom learned at the party that Harlan was leaving everything to Marta, he swapped the contents of Marta's medication vials and stole the antidote so she would kill Harlan with an overdose of morphine, making her ineligible to claim the inheritance by the slayer rule. However, Marta actually administered the correct medicine without reading the labels, recognizing it by the weight and viscosity of the fluid, and is therefore innocent of Harlan's death. After the death was reported as a suicide, Ransom anonymously hired Blanc to discover Marta's guilt. Fran later saw Ransom stealing Marta's medical case to hide the fact that the contents of the vials had been switched, and sent him the blackmail note. Realizing that Marta had unknowingly given Harlan the correct medication, Ransom forwarded the blackmail note to Marta. He burned down the medical examiner's office to destroy evidence of Marta's innocence. Finally, he drugged Fran with morphine and emailed her location to Marta, planning to frame Marta for Fran's murder.

In order to trick Ransom into confessing, Marta lies that Fran has survived and will implicate him; after he confesses and vows revenge, she vomits on him, revealing the lie. Enraged, he attacks her with a knife but discovers it is a retractable stage knife. Ransom is taken into custody while Marta watches the Thrombeys from what is now her mansion.