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Knives Out (Screenplay)

Rian Johnson

4.50 · Rating details · 111 ratings · 20 reviews

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ebook, 124 pages

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Average rating 4.50 ·

Rating details

· 111 ratings · 20 reviews

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May 26, 2020 posthuman rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: fans of Wes Anderson, Agatha Christie, Patricia Highsmith

Shelves: screenplays, mystery, black-comedy, favorites

Knives Out was an engrossing, rather quick read. A quirky, cleverly structured black comedy whodunit with hilarious dialogue and some delightful character portraits. I look forward to watching the finished film and comparing to what I imagined while reading.

BLANC
Something is afoot with this whole affair. I know it, and I believe you know it.

MARTA
So you're... going to keep digging.

BLANC
Harlan's detectives they dig, they rifle and root, truffle pigs. I anticipate the terminus of gravity

...more

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Jan 08, 2020 Dee's Reading Zone rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-thriller, whodunit, character-you-love-to-hate, not-a-doormat, health-concerns, suicide, good-girl, good-intentions, good-read, good-vs-evil

"You all love twisting the knife into one another." - Benoit Blanc

This was an engaging whodunit screenplay that was unpredictable and a very good read. Famous novelist, Harlan Thrombey commits suicide leaving many unanswered questions and more red herrings to mention in the screenplay. In walks in the noted Detective Benoit Blanc to solve the case.

"The family is truly desperate. And when people get desperate, the knives come out." -Benoit Blanc

The Thrombey clan were a terrible group once they d ...more

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Dec 16, 2019 Melissa Hedges- Rankin rated it it was amazing

Part of the 'script a day' 30 day challenge from ScreenwritingU.
Hadn't seen this movie beforehand so thought I may get lost at times, but I did not.
Ensemble cast and pacing was well done with the flashbacks and mystery combined to current day.
Humor was great, having had a brother named Hugh the Hugh joke especially made me laugh.
Looking forward to seeing this movie. ...more

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Dec 18, 2019 A.M. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: e-books, i-own

Bless, the descriptions:

LINDA
How you doing kiddo.
Linda is 60ish, well put together, sharp and steely eyed. She dresses and speaks with just a little more sharpness than any situation she's in requires.

LIEUTENANT ELLIOTT (V.O.)
Did anyone besides the family show face?
LINDA (V.O.)
Uh. There was Fran, the housekeeper. Marta, Harlan's caregiver, good girl, hard worker.
Family's from Ecuador. And Wanetta - Greatnana, Harlan's mom.
At the snack table wearing a dozen coats, a woman who might be three hundr

...more

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Feb 17, 2020 Q rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebook, screenplay

I liked the movie so much that when I saw the screenplay was available online for award season purposes, I had to read it. So great.

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Jun 19, 2020 Nick Martin rated it it was amazing

the game is afoot (67:00)

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Jun 05, 2020 Emilie Guan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: play-screenplay

The movie was one of my favorites and this screenplay was absolutely phenomenal. It’s snarky and sophisticated and atmospheric and feels so nostalgic yet innovative at the same time. Highly recommend for people looking for a place to start reading screenplays.

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Dec 15, 2019 Realini rated it really liked it

Knives Out, written and directed by Rian Johnson
Eight out of 10

To make a silly, wrong-sided joke, we can read the impressive names in the cast, with Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Christopher Plummer, Ana de Armas, Toni Collette, and then stop, for there is nothing else to say in favor of this motion picture…

Unless of course, we look at the long list of nominations and awards, including three for the upcoming Golden Globes, for the most important categ ...more

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Feb 12, 2020 Ross Bonaime rated it really liked it

Rian Johnson's screenplay for Knives Out is a fun twist on the whodunnit, by presenting the audience with what seems almost like too much information upfront, before disseminating the details that truly matter slowly throughout the film. By reading Johnson's screenplay, it's easier to note the little clues that pop out on rewatch, such as a New Yorker magazine in a suspicious place, or the way a person says a specific line. This is clearly a screenplay that has been worked over and over, with Jo Rian Johnson's screenplay for Knives Out is a fun twist on the whodunnit, by presenting the audience with what seems almost like too much information upfront, before disseminating the details that truly matter slowly throughout the film. By reading Johnson's screenplay, it's easier to note the little clues that pop out on rewatch, such as a New Yorker magazine in a suspicious place, or the way a person says a specific line. This is clearly a screenplay that has been worked over and over, with Johnson having a lot of fun trying to screw with audience expectations.

But also my biggest problem (and it's not a major one) with the film also makes itself abundantly clear in the screenplay. I find there to be just too many characters in Knives Out, and yes, they serve as red herrings for the larger mystery at hand, but when reading this screenplay, it becomes clear just how many characters in this story are completely irrelevant to the bigger story. Even though even some of the primary characters are essentially useless, I'm thinking more of the very secondary characters that have little purpose other than to either hear a necessary line. But it is a fun bit of writing though, to see how Johnson presents all the different ways this story could go, before immediately reigning it in by presenting the simple solution, before then again opening it up into a larger explanation.

I tend to find Johnson's films to be more clever than great (with The Last Jedi actually being great because of its cleverness), and Knives Out at times does fall into that. For example, I think of his screenplay for Brick, which took time to add all sorts of slang words that the audience needed to remember in order to comprehend the story in a way that I always found silly. I do think Johnson is getting better as a writer, and finds a way to integrate cleverness into his screenplays without it feeling overbearing. I can't wait to see how much he improves by his next film, and am very curious how he one-ups himself with the eventual Knives Out sequel. ...more

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Dec 24, 2019 Jake Harris rated it it was amazing

I couldn’t find a GoodReads entry for the “Hook, Line & Sinker” short movie tie-in book that the marketing team gave away for free in certain airports this year, so this is my logging for that book. I haven’t read the screenplay but I’ve seen the movie and loved it. The HL&S tie-in is an easy read but has echoes of the film (and is referenced by Noah Sagan) and was a fun way to spend my night reading.

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Feb 21, 2020 Richard rated it it was amazing

Shelves: screenplay, favourites

Being able to recast this screenplay in my head made the gentle southern accent much easier to accept.

I loved the descriptions of the mansion to begin with and the character introductions throughout were excellent.

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Dec 29, 2019 Kat rated it it was amazing

Worth reading either before (if you don't mind spoilers) or after seeing the movie. The character descriptions alone were delightful, and it's so fun to see the little details that were in the script before shooting and which must have been added later. ...more

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Feb 01, 2021 sofia rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2021, ebooks, scripts

*4.25.

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Feb 08, 2020 feral rated it it was amazing

marta cabrera the woman you are today

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Oct 06, 2020 Mikayla Summers rated it it was amazing

Funny and quirky and a good mystery. loved.

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Jan 16, 2020 rachel. rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 17, 2020 Shah rated it it was amazing

Rian Johnson is a god

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Mar 29, 2020 Justin rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-reads

If you liked the movie, you'll love the screenplay. Adds a few more elements that didn't make it into the final cut. ...more

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Mar 20, 2020 Lillian rated it liked it

I was unsure to read this script at first. A lot of my love for the movie stems from the way thermales moved and the decoration and set design created suspense. However I greatly enjoyed reading the dialogues and understood the story more than before as a clever homage to old crime films like the Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie movies. Even without the music or the actors the characters lived through their word choices and dialogues. Marta and Hugh especially were funny to read. I will rewatc ...more

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