BEST OF 2019: The Murderous Politics of KNIVES OUT
Were Knives Out merely a brilliant whodunit (which it is) centered around colorful characters, all whom add an abundance of humor, it might still have made my top 13 list based on the skillfulness and craftsmanship employed by writer-director Rian Johnson. What raises this already superb entertainment however, is the dark matter underlining the whole thing. The film is hardly subtle in its politics, even if Trump’s name is never mentioned. Much of the film centers around a wealthy white family and how they behave around and treat one of their Hispanic employees — Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas, who I would have nominated for Supporting Actor category, but I was out-voted). Marta is a private nurse for the family’s wealthy patriarch, Harlan Thrombey (an endearing, rascally Christopher Plummer).
At first glance, Linda and Richard Drysdale seem to treat Marta as part of the family, despite their more conservative politics — in fact because of their conservative politics. Ana, after all, is a hard worker. She isn’t living off the government. And, as far as they know, her family immigrated to America, “the right way”. In other words, she’s “one of the good ones”. After Harlan dies in an apparent suicide, Linda’s brother, Walt Thrombey (a very funny, creepy Michael Shannon), even graciously ensures Marta that the family has decided they are going to assist her financially (now that they are presumably loaded).
Watching Knives Out more than once is a rewarding experience. The script is air-tight but what really becomes a bit more clear is how kindness and respect reveals itself to be condescension and self-satisfying, self-righteousness. There’s a wonderful moment that didn’t completely connect with me until a second viewing: Richard (a really terrific Don Johnson) is being interrogated about one of his interactions with Marta by the film’s eccentric private investigator, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, clearly having a blast). By Richard’s account, he and the family are warm and inviting towards Marta (a flashback — from Richard’s point of view — shows him smiling and waving her over to the center of the room rather than standing at a distance against the wall). The implication is she is one of the family and they treated her as such. And it is technically true that Richard waves her over and is smiling as he does so and that he does want her to join them (for the moment). And hey, the guy even loves the play Hamilton, which celebrates immigrants! But you later realize this heartwarming moment is really one to use Marta and to use her identity as a minority to make an argument against immigrants like her… all so he can go back to forgetting all about her again. Johnson even humorously caps the scene with Richard — now having used Marta and made his point — absently handing Marta his used dessert dish as if she’s one of “the help”).
From the very beginning, this cast of characters have all their dirty laundry aired out which serves not only the mystery central to the plot, but also reveals the depth of the film’s critique of conservative politics (or, at the very least, the current state of conservative politics) as they pertain to immigrants.
Johnson’s whodunit is a whodunit that turns into a Hitchockian cat-and-mouse game that then turns back into a whodunit all over again. And yet I’ve spent most of this space not even writing about the film’s thriller aspects because the movie has more on its mind than keeping us guessing. Knives Out was easily one of the best times I had in a theater this year and its last shot is a hell of a satisfying punchline, sending audiences giggling out of the theater every time I’ve seen it. What a movie!
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