#blancverse

[lilydvoratrelundar]

the other thing about the bit with the drink in glass onion is i IMMEDIATELY said “cos of the pineapple, right?” and then the whole ooohohooo it was poooisoned and i was like. hehehe i know it wasn’t. now let’s see...

[rosy-avenger]

Yo. Tell us more of your Knives Out visual language takes.

Or don't. I'm not your dad.

(Unless your dad asks you really specific questions about cinematography, in which case, uh yo, we're out of milk)

Anon I wish I could make gifs because just talking about it doesn't have the same impact. Alas.

I particularly appreciated the shots that communicated Marta's economic status as compared to the Thrombeys. My initial post was about Meg's iPhone, but that wasn't the only example. Others:

-Marta drives a semi-crappy Hyundai, in contrast to the cars the Thrombeys drive (especially Ransom's vintage BMW)

-the shot of Marta's phone with its cracked screen, and later her beat-up sneakers

Then aside from the effective communication about Marta not being wealthy, there were some other good cinematography moments:

-the halo of knives being visible behind all of the family members during their interviews, but it's always off-center with nobody standing directly in front of it, until near the end when first Benoit, then Marta, sit so their heads are right in the center (the hole in the center of the... knife... donut?)

-during Richard's interview, he says something about Marta really being part of the family, and the audio of that line is played over a clip of Richard sitting in the living room and gesturing Marta forward like he's welcoming her into the family conversation; but later when we see the full context of that scene, he's actually calling her forward so he can use her as a prop in his political discussion. The movie is a mystery story with a lot of confusion about the circumstances of Harlan's death; this type of callback shot is a really effective way of showing that the Thrombeys can and do misrepresent their experiences to make themselves look better. It's a reminder to the audience not to take anything at face value.

-really fast blink-and-you'll-miss-it thing: the OS on Harlan's laptop is Windows XP or something similarly way out of date. Very typical for an older person who got used to one OS and never wants to update to a newer one.

-an obvious one: when Marta is giving Harlan the medications, the camera pans sideways and the sheathed knife on its stand moves into frame in the foreground, passing over Harlan's throat.

-when Marta and Benoit are talking on the patio and the outdoor light shines from over Benoit's shoulder (visual metaphor for the illumination of the truth?)

-I saw a thing about how Ransom's clothes are expensive but worn, like he doesn't take care of them; but while watching the movie I interpreted it as that he's cosplaying being poor like some wealthy people do.

-with a couple of brief exceptions, every time we see the portrait of Harlan, it's in the background over Marta's shoulder or Marta is the one looking at it. I interpreted this as showing that while the family focuses on what they can get (or rather, what they stand to lose) out of Harlan's death, Marta is the only one who loved him as a friend and genuinely misses him.

BONUS! Not a cinematography thing, but an imdb-trivia type thing that inexplicably is not on the imdb trivia page: in the sequence of reading Harlan's will, all the reading of the will is done by Frank Oz's character. However, he keeps having to be prompted by a woman attorney who never speaks herself, and none of the other characters interact with her. To put it another way, Frank Oz plays a character who lacks agency and needs to be directed by a character who no one else acknowledges. One might call him a puppet.

[inkfinch]

{ the world’s other greatest detective }

Petition for the next Battinson movie to introduce Robin and inexplicably crossover with the Benoit Blancverse

[ ID: A two panel comic with Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne. Panel one is Dick smiling, in a hoodie with a Robin patch on the sleeve. He is exclaiming “google say you’re the WORLD’S GREATEST DETECTIVE!” with stars decorating the speech bubble and the background. Panel 2 is Bruce with bags under his eyes and a bruise on his cheek. He has no mask but still in his batsuit and a striped bathrobe, holding a water bottle that says Holy Semantics, Batman! He looks to the side, saying “Chum, let me make this clear - I am Not Benoit Blanc.” At the corner of the panel is a chibi head of a frowning Dick who says “You’re no fun, B”. End of ID ]

[rosy-avenger]

It's been 24 hours and I'm still reeling over the use of visual language in Knives Out. In particular the moment where Meg tells Marta she's sorry for telling the rest of the family about Marta's mother being undocumented, and Marta comforts Meg and tells her it's okay as Meg cries, and you see the shiny gold iPhone in Meg's hand as she hugs Marta.

It's just!!! So good!!!