Spoilers? Kinda sorta. Please go watch the movie.

This humorous twist on a whodunit makes me hungry for the prospect of a franchise.

The movie, written and directed by Rian Johnson, centers around the death of eccentric mystery novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). His surviving family members, all entitled, betray one another to varying degrees as they cooperate with/close ranks against the police and the equally-eccentric private investigator Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). The story is primarily viewed through the eyes of Marta (Ana de Armas), Thrombey’s young nurse, who has a peculiar tendency to vomit when asked to lie. None of us saw that trait coming.

Like any murder mystery, it opens with a dead body, and from there, we meet the police and the list of suspects. But what’s unusual about this story is that the “whodunit” appears to be solved on page 39. At that point, there’s still an hour to go in the movie. So unlike the traditional mystery story, where the murderer is revealed at the story’s conclusion, we apparently know the murderer one third of the way into the story. In this way, the story twists to feel more like a suspense or action film where the outcome is a foregone conclusion, and the intrigue lies in how the pieces will come together.

What works

First of all, there’s so much humor in the script, both in the dialogue and in the direction. However, I want to focus on the pacing of the story. It never drags, and the tension, despite the humor, constantly spirals tighter and tighter. How does this work? Humor is the relief of tension, so how does Johnson make them not only coexist but collaborate?

One interesting technique Johnson uses is to have Blanc make goofy observations in the middle of a tense scene. This has the effect of slowing time down, which paradoxically heightens the tension. The audience wants him to catch on to what’s happening around him, but he’s busy flaking off.

Speaking of delightful…

Later on, as the story appears to be reaching resolution, Blanc pulls the fluffy stuff again:

This is a great scene. We’ve just had a car chase involving the character we know killed Thrombey. There’s the ticking clock–a classic device to heighten tension. The predator, so to speak, is sitting right on top of his prey, but he won’t move in for the kill. “Let me know if this is boring.” Is he toying with her, or is he genuinely puzzled? It doesn’t particularly matter; the point of this line is to tease the audience. It’s anything but boring. The scene makes the audience shriek, “What the f*** are you doing?!” He’s doing what all good movie cops do, right? He’s thinking about doughnuts. And Blanc’s metaphor for the case doesn’t stop there.

Marta’s literally said she killed Harlan, and Blanc acknowledges it. But. But. He’s not done.

Most mysteries are resolved with a methodical exposition of the facts that lead to the conclusion. That happens in Knives Out as well. But not in a way that would bring sweet relief to someone who drank a 2-liter soda from the concession stand, you know? Nope, first we’re going to spiral into an Escher-esque, Droste-effect dialogue about doughnuts. The full resolution of the story is then served up, in increasingly tiny doughnuts, over the next n i n e t e e n p a g e s. Do you get how long that is? It’s almost excruciating, except that, like a doughnut of any size, it’s delicious. Who doesn’t want a never-ending doughnut?

What doesn’t work?

To be honest, I think the way the plot is resolved is slightly too cute. It takes the necessary resolution a half step more complicated than it needs to be. But the character of Benoit Blanc demands an eccentric, baroque resolution, and the story is so much delicious, sugary fun at this point that we’re willing to forgive it.

Fiction writing lesson:

To heighten tension, slow down time.

The story works because it’s one long tease. To make your audience crave a resolution, dangle it in front of them….for. ev. er.