Rian Johnson’s Knives Out is a rare film that manages to be both a loving tribute to the murder mystery genre and a bold reinvention of it. At first, it seems like a familiar Agatha Christie-style whodunit: an old mansion, a dead patriarch, a greedy family, and a detective with a Southern drawl. But beneath that classic surface, Johnson reshapes the three-act structure into something fresh.
Let’s look at how each act works in detail.
Act I: Setting the Stage and Shattering Expectations
Exposition
We open with the discovery of Harlan Thrombey’s apparent suicide. The police arrive at the sprawling family estate, where the Thrombey clan, each quirky, each suspicious, is introduced through interviews. Their conflicting accounts establish the fractured family dynamics and multiple motives for murder.
Inciting Incident
Enter Benoit Blanc, the enigmatic detective hired anonymously to investigate what might not be a suicide after all. His mere presence transforms the situation from routine case into mystery. It's a simple inciting incident.
First Plot Point
The huge twist lands early: Marta, Harlan’s nurse, accidentally gave him the wrong dose of medication and watched him die. This flips the genre on its head. Instead of whodunit, the question becomes: how long until she’s caught?
By the end of Act I, the game has changed.
Act II: The Cat-and-Mouse Game
Rising Action
Marta struggles to cover her tracks. She sneaks around crime scenes, lies to detectives, and navigates the increasingly hostile Thrombey family. Dramatic irony drives the tension: we believe she’s guilty, so every close call feels like disaster waiting to happen.
Midpoint
In the midpoint of the story, the will is read, and in a shocking turn, Harlan leaves his fortune to Marta. This escalation raises the stakes astronomically: not only is she trying to avoid prison, but now the entire family has reason to hate and target her.
Second Plot Point (End of Act II)
Marta is pushed to the brink. She’s blackmailed, stalked, and eventually lured into a trap by Ransom, Harlan’s grandson. Just when it seems like she’ll be exposed, Blanc finally pieces together the real story, pulling us into Act III.
Act III: Truth, Justice, and the Real Villain
Climax
In the climax, Blanc lays out the truth in the classic detective tradition: Ransom tampered with the medication labels, intending to frame Marta for Harlan’s death. Ironically, Marta’s medical instincts saved Harlan: she gave him the right dose without realizing it. Harlan’s “suicide” was his own desperate plan to protect Marta from what he believed was her fatal mistake.
Falling Action
The trap closes on Ransom. Marta outsmarts him during his last-ditch violent outburst, cementing her role as the true hero of the story.
Resolution
In the final shot, Marta stands on the mansion balcony, coffee mug in hand: “My house, my rules, my coffee.” The inheritance, the mystery, and the moral victory all belong to her now.
PLOT STRUCTURE WORKBOOK
