Courtney Coleman

MM 1337
Film Paper
10/11/20
2 FILMS PAPER

Knives Out:​ Directed & Written by Rian Johnson

Quick Introduction
A storytelling roller coaster, going through who murdered the father, who was head of the
wealthy Thrombey family. Investigators come to the home to get to the bottom of the
investigation. Lieutenant Elliott, Trooper Wagner, and Benoit Blanc interview each family
member to see who faces the crime. Not to mention they also interview his personal nurse and
friend, Marta Cabrera.

In The Scenes
Harlands body is found by another nurse, Fran. As they introduce the characters, the
camera cuts to the scene of the descriptions. Benoit Blanc presses the key everytime there is key
information needed to take note, his way of consulting. These colors in the shots are cold, using
blues and greens seen in the character interviews. When it comes to family moments they
become more warm, using browns and golds. This was more of a dramatic and theatrical type of
film.
Very nice use of close ups and ground shots, using the investigative tactic type of shots;
when it comes to important objects or motions the audience needs to pay attention to. Blanc
interviews the characters and the camera pans in on his face as they get deeper into each of the
pieces to the story of the family. Everyone is trying to cover each other's tracks. Matra gets her
chance at an interview, leg shaking close up on her as she waits. She has a regurgative reaction to
lies, the detectives use that to their advantage to gather some information they already have.
One of my favorite scenes is the detectives breaking down the party which ended at 11:30
pm. Marta takes Harland up creaking stairs to his office/room for his meds. Linda’s room being
right underneath the stairs, so she heard everything. Joanie hearing a thump went to go check on
Harland, waking Linda, but it was nothing. Marta leaves at midnight, seen by Walt and his son.
Linda once again is woken by Harland wanting a snake (but it was really Marta disguised as him
for her not to be a suspect). Between 12:15- 2 am, Meg came home and went to bed. Around 3
am dogs were barking which woke Meg, but she just went to the bathroom then back to bed. This
is one of the best camera following strategies, because it gives the audience a chance to piece the
information together and make their own assumptions about who it could be.
There is new information introduced when interviewing Matra for the second time, she
thinks she gave Harland the wrong meds, she leaves then sneakily returns through the trick hall
window. Grandmother sees her thinking she was Ransom “the blacksheep” of the family; who
didn’t go to the funeral but shows up for the reading of the will.

CONCLUSION: The Real Rollercoaster, Who Really Did It?

All eyes are looking at him as he is the suspicious one. At the will reading , the young
boy hears Harland and Ransom arguing the night of the incident. Blanc looks at the hidden
window and wants to investigate the area. Close up on the rug to his floor near his office/room
and window found traces of mud were found of someone coming in and out of that window. As
they close in on the murderer, they question...WHY WAS BLANC HIRED? The person knew
the contents of the will and crime committed which led them to try and to reverse it, also
knowing what Marta did, ​HUE RANSOM DRYSDALE!​ When finding out he is the criminal, he
shows his true colors, confessing in a rage toward Marta because his little game came to an end.
A Simple Favor​: Directed by Paul Fieg, Written by Darcey Bell and Jessica Sharzer

​ uick Introduction
Q
Stephanie, a mom vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth when her best friend Emily disappears.

In The Scenes
Background to the story is...Emily, she's a serious and standoff-ish mother when it comes
to mingling with other moms. But her son forces her to host a playdate with his friend and his
mother, Stephanie. Emily demands no pictures taken of her as a way of leaving no trace of her.
When Emily needs Nicky (her son) to be picked up by Stephanie, her disappearance
journey begins. Vanishing as a work crisis, Stephanie goes to Emily’s job to find some clues.
When speaking to her co-workers and boss, They don’t care. Some of these characters need to be
recast, they aren’t really fitting for the roles such as the strong co-workers and boss.
Stephanie begins to post Emily’s photo around town because the cops don’t seem to be doing
much. She has a history of disappearing, that's why in the beginning no one cared. Emily has
been spotted in Michigan by one of Stephanie's blog comments, near a lake. She didn’t have any
friends in Michigan, stated by her husband. Police investigate, she was found but not alive. This
is all props to the storytelling ability and it was good but not strong. There was a time in the
sequence where I for sure knew she was alive. The color contents were just like every other
movie, no theatrics, just natural lighting.

CONCLUSION: Is She Really Gone?

Autopsy report says she’s a heavy alcoholic, heroin user, and track marks in her hands
and toes. Nicky, Emily’s son, claims he saw her at the playground during school hours, as well
as Miles, Stephanie’s son. Stephanie moves in with Emily’s husband Shawn. Stephanie feels
Emily creeping around her home while leaving subliminal messages. Until one day Emily
answers Stephanie’s phone telling her that she is watching.
Emily becomes Diane Hyland’s muse, Claudia, as she called her. She says no heroin use
by Emily and she always wanted to be invisible. But Diane doesn’t believe anything the evidence
Stephanie told her. Stehpanie begins to dig into Emily’s background, find Mr. and Ms.
McLanden. Revealing that they are Emily’s family and her twin, ​Faith​.
Faith, a troubled child, as her mother says “she’s straight from hell”. Shawn is seated at a
cafe, Emily appears and explains her disappearance. Emily and Stephanie meet at the graveyard,
explaining the plan Emily and Faith, her twin, set out for themselves. Emily dramatically drowns
Faith in the lake of their childhood. They conger a plan to plant the investigation on Shawn. But
Emily is caught on Stephanie's livestream confessing to everything.