Almost every holiday has a long list of films that people will watch to celebrate. For Halloween, there’sThe Shining,Halloween, andBeetlejuice,among so many more. For Christmas, there’sIt’s a Wonderful Life,ElfandThe Grinch,just to name a few. Even the Fourth of July is often celebrated with the likes ofIndependence Day,Captain America,andthe Broadway recording ofHamilton. When it comes to Thanksgiving, however, there aren’t a lot of great options. There are a few classics likePlanes, Trains and AutomobilesandA Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, but there aren’t many truly standout Thanksgiving movie options outside of those two.
A quick Google search for Thanksgiving movies will yield results such as Netflix’sFriendsgiving, the 2013 animatedFree Birdsmovie, and a series of horror movies aptly titledThankskilling. None of those sound all that appealing for celebration, and so you won’t be blamed for wanting to avoid them (well, maybeThankskillingcould be fun). Instead, here’s a proposal for one stellar movie that we should all collectively appoint as a new Thanksgiving classic: Rian Johnson’s 2019 murder mystery,Knives Out. Even though the film never explicitly makes reference to the holiday, it has all the makings of a great Thanksgiving movie that the whole family can enjoy. Here’s how:
The Family Get-Together
The original purpose of the family get-together inKnives Outis a birthday party, not the Thanksgiving holiday. However, that set-up and the following week or so, when the events of the murder mystery unfold, certainly give off the necessary fall holiday vibes. The family that is gathered inKnives Outis quite an extensive one. It is full of all the dysfunctional family norms, such as estranged cousins, snooty grandkids, and bickering siblings. The common relation that connects them is the 85-year-old Harlan Thrombey, played bythe legendary Christopher Plummer, who is the father, father-in-law, or grandfather to all of them. Outside of this core family, the only other key figures that are in attendance are Wanetta Thrombey, who is Harlan’s elderly mother, and Marta Cabrera, the nurse that the family hired to take care of Harlan for the last several years prior to his death.
Although the family were gathered for Harlan’s birthday party, they were then subsequently forced to stay together throughout the duration of the investigation into his murder. Over the ensuing days of mistrust and tension, there is all sorts of familial drama that unfolds. The overall effect is not dissimilar to a family get-together over Thanksgiving. They are all trying (at least at first) to get along as best they can because of the circumstances, but the tensions between them are sparked up again by the comments of just a few people, though it’s mainly just Chris Evan’s Hugh. They are all stuck together in this giant family mansion and collectively trying to figure out who killed Harlan and, more importantly, how it affects their inheritance.
Adding to this family-holiday feel, and injecting a bit of the Thanksgiving atmosphere, is the fact that the film is very notably set during the fall season. The leaves are changing; there’s a crisp autumn breeze over the property, and everyone is bundled up in their various expensive jackets, gloves and hats. Not many films really embrace the fall aesthetic as thoroughly asKnives Outdoes. While the script doesn’t call specific attention to it very often, there’s no arguing that the seasonal weather does a lot to add to the overall atmosphere of the film. This weather, in combination with all the aforementioned family antics and the fact that the film was literallyreleased over the Thanksgiving weekendin 2019, results inKnives Outinarguably being a Thanksgiving movie, despite it never actually referencing the holiday.
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An Engaging Mystery
With all that said, it takes a lot more than just fall vibes to define a movie as a Thanksgiving film. It’s also important that the movie also works as actual entertainment for the whole family.Knives Outcertainly checks that box, as it provides one of the best murder mystery stories of the last few decades. If a murder mystery movie isn’t legitimately compelling, then it can be really easy to forget. One example of this isDeath on the Nilefrom earlier this year. However, a solid murder mystery will stick in its audience’s minds for the long term, which is exactly whatKnives Outhas done.
Rian Johnson has long-established himself as a filmmaker who is willing to take his stories in completely unexpected directions. He did so inLooper, byflipping the concept of a time travel movie inside outand using it to establish a setting rather than a plot. Then he did so again inStar Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, in which the stark new direction for the franchise intensely divided fans. That tendency to subvert expectations is a perfect fit for the murder mystery genre, and Johnson’s talents are on full display inKnives Out. It’s the kind of film that not only keeps you guessing from start to finish, but it even flips genre norms on their head by providing you with way more information sooner than you would expect. It encourages the audience to engage with the mystery and try to figure it out on their own. Instead of keeping many of the details close to his chest, Johnson is very open with the secrets ofKnives Out, but the real puzzle is putting them together to make a complete story of events.
One of the key reasons thatKnives Outworks so well is that it is a genuinely interesting and captivating mystery. From the moment Daniel Craig’s detective Benoit Blanc arrives on the scene and begins piecing the story together, the entire film just moves with incredible speed. The characters are well-defined and perfectly cast, as each player brings their own unique personality and flavor to the game. While Craig is the chief character and gives the standout performance of the film, the entire supporting cast also contributes significantly to building the overall persona ofKnives Out. Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jaime Lee Curtis and Lakeith Stanfield are all fantastic, and that’s not even to mention the other big names such as Michael Shannon, Toni Collette and Katherine Langford.
Related:Netflix Paid More Than Double Lionsgate’s Limit for Knives Out Sequels
A Tone Anyone Can Appreciate
Another important factor that allowsKnives Out tostand so far above many other modern murder mysteries is the tone that Johnson strikes within the story. The film doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it never quite becomes a comedy either. Johnson walked a fine line in the writing process by balancing these different tones. While that could’ve easily resulted in a movie that feels all over the place, these different tones are all blended together as if by an expert chef. The final product is a movie that has a really solid mystery to explore, and while there are solid emotional beats and themes to be found within it,Knives Outnever forgets the most important thing for this kind of movie: that it just needs to be a fun and entertaining experience.
It is precisely because of this mixture of tones that the movie is able to appeal to pretty much everybody. There’s a lot of humor for the more comedy-based members of your family, but there’s also a great story with some depth to it for those that prefer films with a little more meat on their bones. There are movie stars both old and young within its cast, so most people should recognize at least someone that is on-screen at some point. Then, on top of all that, is the fact that it is an old-school type of film that is made with a 21st-century sense of creativity and style. It’s a hot new property that has already been green-lit for two sequels, with the first,Glass Onion, premiering this fall, and yet it is a thoroughly standalone film that is a complete story in and of itself.
It’s hard to imagine anyone actively dislikingKnives Out. It’s a cleverly written, well-acted and wonderfully realized murder mystery that evokes the same feeling as much of the classics of its genre. It is able to operate on the same level as the works of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle without relying too heavily on the tropes and ideas that they established.Knives Outstands alone as a great murder mystery that learns from the iconic stories that have preceded it, and it isn’t afraid to modernize the genre and take some bold new creative swings within it. This overall quality of the movie makes it a great watch any time of the year, but its fall aesthetic and family-oriented plot in particular make it especially appropriate for a Thanksgiving visit.
