KNIVES OUT Plot

The family of Harlan Thrombey, a wealthy mystery novelist, attends his 85th birthday party at
his Massachusetts mansion. The next morning, Harlan's housekeeper, Fran, finds him dead
with his throat slit. The police believe Harlan's death to be suicide, but private detective Benoit
Blanc is anonymously paid to investigate. Blanc learns Harlan's relationships with his various
family members were strained: on the day of his death, Harlan threatened to expose his son-
in-law Richard for cheating on his daughter Linda; cut off his daughter-in-law Joni's allowance
for stealing from him; fired his son Walt from his publishing company; and had an altercation
with his grandson Ransom.

1- Who was Harlan Thrombey?

2- What was the family celebrating at Harlan’s mansion?
3- Who found Harlan? How had he died?
4- Who was in charge of investigating the suicide/crime, who had hired him?
5- How was the relationship between Harlan and:
- His son-in-law Richard, why?
- His daughter-in- law Joni, why?
- His son Walt, why?
- His grandson Ransom, why?

Unknown to Blanc, Harlan's nurse, Marta Cabrera, accidentally mixed up his medications; she
apparently overdosed him with morphine and could not find the antidote, leaving Harlan only
minutes to live. Wanting to save Marta's family from scrutiny (her mother is an undocumented
immigrant), Harlan gave her instructions to create a false alibi, then slit his own throat.
Harlan's very elderly mother saw Marta carrying out his instructions, but mistook her for
Ransom. Marta cannot lie without vomiting, so she gives true but incomplete answers when
questioned. She agrees to assist in Blanc's investigation, and conceals evidence of her actions
as they search the property. When Harlan's will is read, to everyone's shock, Marta is the sole
beneficiary. Ransom helps her escape the family's wrath, but manipulates her into confessing
to him; he offers his help in exchange for a share of the inheritance. The other Thrombeys try
to persuade Marta to renounce the inheritance; Walt threatens to expose her mother's
immigration status.

6- Who was Marta Cabrera, what did she do?

7- What does overdose mean?
8- What was Marta’s mother legal situation?
9- What did Harlan think of to help Marta’s mother, what is the term to define that?
10- Who saw Marta, but mistook her for Ransom?
11- What happened to Marta when she lied?
12- Who was the only beneficiary of Harlan’s will?
13- Who helped Marta from the wrath of the family?
14- What did Ramson persuade Marta to do in exchange for keeping her mother’s secret?

Marta receives a blackmail note with a partial photocopy of Harlan's toxicology report. She and
Ransom drive to the medical examiner's office, but it has burned down. Marta receives an
email proposing a rendezvous with the blackmailer. Blanc and the police spot them, and, after
a brief car chase, Ransom is arrested; Blanc explains Harlan's mother saw Ransom climbing
down from Harlan's room the night he died. At the rendezvous, Marta finds Fran, drugged. She
performs CPR and calls an ambulance. She confesses to Blanc, though Ransom has already
informed on her, and decides to tell the family she caused Harlan's death, which would
invalidate the will under the slayer rule. At the house, she finds a copy of the full toxicology
report in Fran's cannabis stash. She gives it to Blanc without reading it herself. Reading it, Blanc
sees it showed little morphine in Harlan's system, and interrupts Marta before she can confess.

15- What did the blackmail note was about?

16- What happened to the medical examiner’s office?
17- Who witnessed the tentative rendezvous? Who was arrested after that?
18- Who did Marta find drugged?
19- After Ransom told on Marta, what did she decide to do?
20- Why did Blanc interrupt Marta from telling the truth?

Blanc reveals his deductions: after Ransom learned Harlan was leaving everything to Marta, he
swapped the contents of Harlan's medication vials and stole the antidote so that Marta would
kill Harlan and thus become ineligible to claim the inheritance. But Marta actually gave Harlan
the correct medication, subconsciously recognizing it by its viscosity, and only thought she had
poisoned him after reading the label. When the death was reported a suicide, Ransom
anonymously hired Blanc to expose Marta. Fran saw Ransom tampering with the crime scene
and sent him the blackmail note. After he realized Marta was not responsible for Harlan's
death, but Marta still thought she was, he forwarded the note to Marta and burned down the
medical examiner's office to destroy evidence of her innocence. He overdosed Fran with
morphine, intending for Marta to get caught with Fran's corpse.

21- What were Blanc conclusions? Who changed the vials, why?
22- Who had hired Blanc to blame Marta?
23- Who had seen Ransom tampering with the crime and sent a blackmail note?
24- Who had overdosed Fran, why?

Marta tricks Ransom into confessing by lying that Fran has survived and will implicate him;
then she vomits on him, revealing the lie. Enraged, he attacks her with a knife from Harlan's
collection, which turns out to be a retractable stage knife. With Ransom's murder confession
recorded and having witnessed his attempted murder of Marta, the police arrest him. Blanc
tells Marta he realized early on she played a part in Harlan's death, noting a small spot of blood
on her shoe. Linda finds a note from Harlan about her husband's adultery. As Ransom is taken
into custody, Marta watches from the balcony of her mansion

25- How did Marta trick Ransom?

26- What happened with the knife Ransom used on Marta?
27- What was the sign that Blanc found to solve the crime?
28- What did Linda read on her father’s letter to her?

Cast

 Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, a private detective

 Chris Evans as Hugh Ransom Drysdale, Linda and Richard's son
 Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera, Harlan's nurse
 Jamie Lee Curtis as Linda Drysdale, Harlan's eldest daughter
 Michael Shannon as Walt Thrombey, Harlan's youngest son
 Don Johnson as Richard Drysdale, Linda's husband
 Toni Collette as Joni Thrombey, the widow of Harlan's deceased son Neil
 Lakeith Stanfield as Detective Lieutenant Elliott, a detective
 Katherine Langford as Meg Thrombey, Joni's daughter
 Jaeden Martell as Jacob Thrombey, Walt's son
 Christopher Plummer as Harlan Thrombey, an aged, best-selling crime novelist
 Riki Lindhome as Donna Thrombey, Walt's wife
 Edi Patterson as Fran, Harlan's housekeeper
 Frank Oz as Alan Stevens, Harlan's counsel
 K Callan as Wanetta "Great Nana" Thrombey, Harlan's mother
 Noah Segan as Trooper Wagner, a police officer
 M. Emmet Walsh as Mr. Proofroc, a security guard
 Marlene Forte as Mrs. Cabrera, Marta's mother
 Alice Cabrera, Marta's sister
 Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Detective Hardrock (voice cameo)