RIAN JOHNSON'S FILM Knives Out wastes no time setting up the murder mystery that powers its plot. In the very first scene, famed mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found in the library of his mansion, his throat cut. Harlan’s family is shocked. His Latina caretaker, Marta (Ana de Armas), Harlan’s closest confidant, is devastated. The police think it’s a suicide. Private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) thinks otherwise.
The mystery of Harlan’s death may be the plot of Knives Out, but as the story progresses, it’s clear that the film is actually about something else.
Bootstrapping—the idea that one can achieve success purely through hard work and determination—is touted in most areas of public life, from business to education to politics. White Americans particularly love to claim that we’ve risen from tough circumstances while making it harder for less-advantaged populations to do just that.
In Knives Out, the bootstrapping myth is everywhere. Harlan’s children are proud that their dad built a publishing empire. Harlan’s daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) tells Blanc that she, too, created her own business from the ground up. But, of course, those stories aren’t the whole truth. Linda would be nowhere without the hefty loan she got from her father. Harlan himself may have worked hard for his success, but as a white man, there’s no doubt his path was easier than it would have been for others.
On the other hand, Marta is patronized by everyone around her except Blanc, who correctly judges her value. The Thrombeys claim she’s like family, yet she isn’t invited to Harlan’s funeral. One of the film’s running jokes is that none of the Thrombey clan can recall from which South American country Marta immigrated.
When Harlan’s will names Marta the sole beneficiary of his estate, all pretense of care is dropped. The Thrombeys liked Marta, as long as she stayed in her place. The second she becomes someone of consequence, she’s seen as a threat. It’s the same attitude of entitlement and fear that propelled Donald Trump to the White House in 2016.
Johnson tackles all this with caustic humor and extreme sympathy for Marta, exactly the kind of person Jesus meant when he said “blessed are the meek.” The Thrombeys believe money is theirs by right, but Marta’s the one who’s actually done something to earn it.
While the Agatha Christie trappings of Johnson’s movie make it fun, Johnson’s merciless skewering of white privilege, and his lifting up of the least of these, is what makes the movie valuable right now.
Abby Olcese is a freelance film critic and writer based in Missouri. You can find her on Twitter @abbyolcese.
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