[Quick Summary: When the patriarch dies in a "suicide" and leaves his fortune to his nurse, a canny detective steps in to find the true killer in the family.]
This script is primarily a "how-done-it" which leads to the "who."
It is a fast and excellent read.
I was particularly interested to see that the clues were laid out in flashback with an ADDED layer of the clue dropper's emotional uncertainty.
The audience's experience is similar that of an unreliable narrator: who is right? who can we trust? It is a great way to keep the suspense alive.
ex. INT. MARTA'S CAR - NIGHT - FLASHBACK
She drives out the guard gate and down the private road.
HARLAN (V.O.): Drive out the gate, then to avoid the security cameras, pull off the road BEORE the carved elephant.
Up ahead - a weathered wood carved elephant statue.
MARTA: Wait...was it before or after?
HARLAN (V.O.): AFTER the carved elephant.
MARTA: No, he said - before? Was it?
HARLAN (V.O.): BEAFTERFORE the carved elephant.
MARTA: Shit...
She yanks the wheel and pulls off BEFORE the statue.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: It's not just the clues. It's the emotional need for answers. Keep them guessing.
Knives Out (2019)
Written and directed by Rian Johnson
* I tend to classify mysteries into two camps:
- "how-done-its" (often before technology was advanced)
- "who-done-it" and/or "why-done-it"
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