10 Movies Which Refused To Give Fans What They Came For
9. Knives Out - A Modern Day Murder Mystery
Denying audiences what they came for isn't always a bad thing, and narrative-wise it can sometimes work in the film's favour. Because Rian Johnson is a filmmaker who subverts expectations, audiences should have seen this coming. But from the man who made a film like Brick, murder-mysteries should have been his bread and butter.
The contemporary murder mystery had all the ingredients laid out for it - a literal assortment of colourful characters with unique traits, motives and reason scattered about, and for the first half there's a genuine mystery about who would kill wealthy Christopher Plummer.
The best thing about murder mysteries is that audiences are left to try and piece the clues together alongside the investigating officer (in this case, Daniel Craig). But midway through the movie, a flashback reveals how Plummer died and by whose hand, and the film carries on to provide a second mystery that doesn't carry as much weight because at this point, they've already correctly guessed who the real culprit is.
Perhaps that wasn't Rian Johnson's goal. But when the opportunity arises for a modern day murder mystery and introducing a new Poirot style detective is on the cards, why did the film decide to give us one enticing mystery, solve it, and then give us a second less enthusiastic mystery?