The Successful Marriage of Mystery and Black Comedy: 'Knives Out'

Spoiler Alert! This contains spoilers for the entire movie.

Mystery stories have always tackled the darker aspects of each era. In the late 19th century, when classics like Sherlock Holmes were being written, modern cities emerged, leading to urban issues. Agatha Christie's 'Murder on the Orient Express' delves into discrimination and prejudice based on social status and class. 'Hercule Poirot' (Hercule Poirot), the protagonist in Christie's novels, is also a character reflecting the post-World War I situation.

In this vein, the 2019 film 'Knives Out' is a successful modern reimagining of classic mystery stories. 'Benoit Blanc' (Daniel Craig)**, hailed as the last great detective in the world, receives a case and heads to a mansion in America. This mansion belongs to the famous mystery novelist, 'Harlan Thrombey'. However, he is found murdered on the night of his 85th birthday. **And everyone who was in the mansion that night has a motive to kill him.**

While it might seem like a typical detective story at first glance, this film is a black comedy from beginning to end that satirizes the United States during the Donald Trump era. In particular, it focuses on the hypocrisy of the wealthy white class. They appear to oppose racial discrimination and some seem to be against Donald Trump's anti-immigration policies. However, their attitudes take a sharp turn when Harlan Thrombey's will is discovered. It states that all of his fortune will be inherited by Marta Cabrera (Ana De Armas), a Hispanic caretaker.**

The only person in the Thrombey family who helps Marta is Harlan's grandson, 'Ransom' (Chris Evans). But ultimately, it is revealed that he too was trying to manipulate Marta. Knowing that his grandfather was going to leave all his money to Marta, he murdered him and tried to frame her for it.

After Benoit Blanc reveals the truth, Ransom yells, 'We can't lose our family's mansion!' But Blanc mocks him loudly, as if he finds it hilarious. Then, he tells Ransom that 'Your grandfather bought this mansion from a Middle Eastern businessman in the 1980s'. This serves as a reminder that while white people believe America is theirs, they took over the American continent by driving out the native people.

The movie is quite entertaining as a mystery story as well as a black comedy. The clues leading to the ending and the truth are woven throughout the movie, making it enjoyable to watch multiple times and find hidden clues. After the film's success, Netflix acquired the distribution rights, and the sequel, 'Knives Out: Glass Onion,' was released as a Netflix original film.