Thoughts on Murder #1: The Knives Out money issue

Thoughts on Murder is Matt Ferraz's column on Grandma Bertha Interviews

This is a spoiler-free essay about the movie Knives Out (2019). Please keep the comments spoiler-free as well

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the movie Knives Out was a pleasant surprise for mystery fans. The script for subverts the whodunit genre in many interesting ways and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The plot deals with the murder of crime writer Harlan Thrombey (played by Christopher Plummer) and the investigation that ensues. With a great cast and clever twists, the movie is a treat and will keep you guessing till the end.

However, our goal here today isn't to discuss the mystery per se. Watching the movie for the first time, I was intrigued by Harlan Thrombey's career as a crime writer. Specifically, I was intrigued by the fact that he made such a big fortune by managing his books the way he does.

Harlan lives in a huge mansion and supports many of his younger relatives. His fortune is estimated at 60 million dollars at the time of his death. It's unlikely that a book author would make so much money. Unlikely, but not impossible. Remember the case of J.K. Rowling, who became richer than Queen Elizabeth through her Harry Potter books.

There lies the rub, though. The movie is very specific about Harlan's arguments with his son's Walt (Michael Shannon) who manages his publishing house. It's made clear that Harlan releases two books a year in the publisher that, apparently, only prints his own work. Meaning he's self-published and has been so since the beginning of his career, far before the advent of on-demand printing and ebooks. Speaking of ebooks, Harlan doesn't like them, neither does he allow any of his novels to be adapted into film or television.

By trying to make Harlan an old school author, Rian Johnson creates an uneven situation. It's established that the character is 86 years old at the time of his death and that the movie takes place in the year of its release, 2019.  One could argue Harlan started at a big publisher and then migrated to his own company, but that's pure speculation since it's never stated anywhere in the movie. If one considers the amount of resources it would take to make it that big as a self-published author around the time Harlan started releasing his work, it makes it hard to believe he would have done so without selling rights to film or TV or releasing other authors under his imprint. 

At a certain point, Harlan's son Walt complains about that attitude, saying that it's on movies and TV that the real money is. He also tries to convince his father to release his work on digital platforms. But Harlan remains adamant. He hates movies and is a brick and mortar author.

It's clear that Johnson wants to create an old fashioned crime author, who lives in a big mansion that resembles a Clue board and wants to do everything his own way. A mix of J.D. Salinger and Agatha Christie which, interesting as he may be as a character, doesn't make much sense for anyone who's familiar with the publishing business.

That doesn't spoil the movie, though. Not even Daniel Craig's attempt at a Southern American accent does. Knives Out remains an amazing movie that you should check out right now. Let me know your thoughts on the comments, and don't forget to check out Grandma Bertha's interviews! 

Yours,

Matt Ferraz