The Fine Line Between Parody and Subversion of the Murder Mystery Genre
The murder mystery genre has been around for quite a long time. From pioneers of crime fiction such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Edgar Allen Poe, Raymond Chandler and even history within Arabic fiction such as One Thousand And One Nights and a Chinese genre called Gong’an, murder mysteries have been a constant source of intrigue for readers and viewers alike.
While one would be hard pressed to argue against the effectiveness of the murder mystery structure, particularly the hardboiled, noir fiction version that we know so well in modern day, it has come to a point where murder mysteries (whether in book, television or film form) have become somewhat predictable. It’s become harder and harder to come up with a groundbreaking plotline when following the formula of a “whodunit” (a play on the phrase “who has done it?”). Let’s face it: we’ve all heard of or played the famed board game Clue (and might have even watched the 1985 film version of it), and have likely had either a lifelong or shorter-lived obsession with the brilliant Sherlock Holmes books, movies, or TV shows. Though these are only a few examples, it’s all to say that media has been saturated with varying forms of whodunits for quite some time now, making current versions of them easier to criticize and harder to impress.
Take the 2017 film version of Murder On the Orient Express (based on Agatha Christie’s novel of the same name, featuring the detective Hercule Poirot). The film was widely criticized as being too long, filled with superfluity and simultaneously lacking any real substance. It was predictable and, unfortunately rather than hearkening a sense of nostalgia, instead felt outdated. Despite the all star ensemble cast, the likes of which included Kenneth Branagh (who directed the film), Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Willam Defoe and Penelope Cruz, and even despite the gorgeous cinematography, the execution of this particularly adaptation felt lacking and frankly uninteresting.
Of course, this is not to say that Christie’s story is uninteresting – rather, that we have seen so many adaptations doing the same thing that at this point in time, one has to work harder to create a whodunit that is both refreshing and engaging. So when Knives Out, a whodunit film directed by Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) was announced, I was curious to see how – and if – the murder mystery genre would be subverted.
An all-star ensemble cast indeed, what with the likes of Christopher Plummer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell and Ana de Armas. However, after having recently watched Murder on the Orient Express, I’ve been wary of ensemble casts. The caveat of having an ensemble cast is that character development can often feel inadequate or rushed, what with the amount of screen time that has to be split between each actor. The trailer for Knives Out is relatively straightforward, taking on the nostalgic, old-timey, over dramatic and somewhat corny elements that remind us of Clue. It looks like it balances comedy and suspense well enough, but not telling enough as to whether this film would go above and beyond with the genre.
And after watching it, I have to say: it really, truly did.
Without spoiling too much, the film’s most pivotal moment is when it completely overturns the audience’s expectations of the typical whodunit formula about one quarter of the way in. It’s in this moment that viewers are jarringly made to realize that this isn’t going to go how we expected, leaving you totally baffled as to what will come next. So really, the joke is on any of us who thought we were Sherlockian enough to figure it all out before it’s revealed, and this is precisely what subverts the genre enough to make for an intriguing murder mystery.
Not only that, but there is an element of satire that underlines the whole film. Daniel Craig’s character Benoit Blanc is the ultimate parody of the stereotypical private investigator: he has the over-the-top characteristics of Hercule Poirot (in fact, the name is seemingly an exact parody of Poirot’s), the eccentricity of Sherlock Holmes, and the rugged lone wolf aura of a noir-fiction detective like Sam Spade, Ian Rankin or Philip Marlowe. Blanc is so chock-full of pregnant pauses, pensive stares, dramatic oddities and a self-righteous presence that he becomes a main source of comedy, and is undoubtedly written to be a satirical take on his predecessors. The best part about Blanc is that he’s actually kind of bumbling, and though pretty good at his job, is not always as sharp as he claims to be. Johnson humanizes Blanc in a way that many fictional detectives are not – he makes mistakes, and that’s what makes him likable in spite of all odds.
The film is both serious and yet doesn’t take itself too seriously. It utilizes the outlandish when necessary and the realistic in moments you least expect it (what particularly surprised me was the incorporation of the current political state of Trump’s America). This is not a period piece by any means: it’s set in the present, but has a distinct visual hearkening to the past with its big, old school mansion and the focus on a large, dysfunctional family who rely on old money. Even the name Harlan Thrombey, who is Christopher Plummer’s character, is one from another era.
Each character of the Thrombey family is based on common tropes, and yet each actor uses their range to ensure that they come across as more than just a two-dimensional stereotype (Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Jamie Lee Curtis and Toni Collette are particular stand-outs). Ana de Armas does an excellent job as the protagonist, Marta, who turns out to be infinitely more complex as the film progresses than she initially seems.
The film;s score is eclectic, the dialogue comedic, and the climaxes suspenseful and appropriately dramatic when it needs to be. The movie is able to balance a consistent sense of humour with real emotional impact. It is political, adventurous, bizarre, unpredictable, and ultimately subverts everything we expect of a murder mystery. While the plotline is not necessarily the most groundbreaking as a whole, the writing is tight and the acting is consistently solid. (In fact, Craig’s southern accent as Blanc is probably the best onscreen accent he’s done yet).
Knives Out works with the tropes that we all too well of the murder mystery genre and somehow executes them in a way that both pokes fun at, reflects upon, and modernizes itself. Rian Johnson has not only created a thoroughly entertaining and surprisingly refreshing version of a whodunit, but he has satirized the genre in a way that simultaneously respects and supersedes its own expectations.
~ Z ~
Photo by João Silas on Unsplash
