Knives Out Literary Elements

Knives Out Literary Elements

Director

Rian Johnson

Leading Actors/Actresses

Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Plummer, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, and Toni Collette

Genre

Comedy-Mystery

Language

English

Awards

Rian Johnson was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Date of Release

November 27th, 2019

Producer

Ram Bergman and Rian Johnson

Setting and Context

The Thrombey estate in Massachusetts and the surrounding area

Narrator and Point of View

Told from a third-person point of view.

Tone and Mood

Brooding, Violent, Mysterious, Solemn, Energetic, and Shocking

Protagonist and Antagonist

Marta (Protagonist) vs. The Thrombeys (Antagonists)

Major Conflict

The main conflict boils down to: who killed Harlan and why?

Climax

When Blanc monologues about how - and why - Harlan died.

Foreshadowing

Ransom being the culprit behind the fire in the evidence building is foreshadowed during Marta and his conversation over lunch.

Understatement

Marta’s perseverance is understated towards the start of the film.

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

N/A

Allusions

To other mystery films like Clue, Gone Girl, and Murder on the Orient Express, the works of Agatha Christie, Johnson’s other films (like Brick), popular culture, religion, and the geography of the United States.

Paradox

N/A

Parallelism

The stories of many of the Thrombeys are paralleled throughout the film.

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