#knives out

[emieclat]

it's cos you're always outing those damn knives

[skipppppy]

[bonerot19]

knives out is so good for so many reasons but I really appreciate how utterly, absolutely, devastatingly sad it is that Harlan didn't have to die. he didn't want anything bad to happen to Marta because of a mistake she didn't actually make. he would've been fine. she was his friend and he died to protect her. what a perfectly executed tragedy.

[street-of-mercy]

[nicostiel]

#they're married okay

[nulluxe]

OH MY GOD ITS HERE ITS HERE ITS HERE

[iseathegalaxy]

loving this trend of fancy queer detectives, let's keep it up 🏳️‍🌈

[kirkenovak]

[bedheaded-league]

So many modern detectives have tried to emulate Sherlock Holmes, and none of them have even come CLOSE to touching Benoit Blanc. That man is Holmes' true spiritual successor. He's a silly little guy. He's gay. He's a drama queen. He has impeccable fashion sense. He loves music. He works with the cops but refuses to work for them. His voice is both goofy and incredibly fun to listen to. He sucks at playing Clue and Among Us. He mopes in the bathtub for weeks when he doesn't have a case. He loves hanging out with The Girls but gets incredibly uncomfortable when women flirt with him. The only reason he can afford his gorgeous downtown apartment is because his husband works a real job.* The only thing he hates more than Rich Assholes are Stupid Rich Assholes. He solved a double (attempted triple) homicide and the thing that made him most upset was plagiarism. He supports women's rights and women's wrongs. He refuses to break the law himself but actively encourages his client to commit arson.

And, most importantly, he and Holmes would fucking love each other. If most of the modern day detectives inspired by Holmes ever met him, he would probably want to kill them with hammers, but he and Blanc would probably end up being penpals and sending each other newspaper clippings about crime or some shit. And I can absolutely envision a teenage Blanc reading the Holmes stories and being like, "Wait, being a silly little gay private detective is a viable career option? Well, I guess I've finally found my calling in life."

Anyway I love the Benoit Blanc movies and I hope they make a million of them

*confirmed by Rian Johnson

[disregardcanon]

knives out is always such a rewarding rewatch. my favorite part is always when we get to marta's insistence that they call an ambulance and harlan declaring that they can't do that because he'd already be dead and she'd just lose everything! and on some technical level, according to the information that they "had", he was right.

but despite all of his conniving and clever tricks.. he never realized he wasn't experiencing symptoms of a deadly overdose. when i first watched it i thought that was weird and bad writing that he was acting both physically and mentally FINE if he was like, 3 minutes away from death, but it wasn't bad writing. it was stupendous writing, because harlan was only in danger due to his own need to control a situation.

[animentality]

[writhingcreature]

You don’t understand how GOOD it is to me that Benoit Blanc isn’t a hero. He isn’t a savior, he isn’t a vigilante. He is 100000% focus on the law and what is legal and just in the eyes of said law. That’s why it works SO WELL that the people he’s helping are women/ of color and he’s a white man. He just puts the pieces together - the women themselves are who save the day and get what they deserve. He only EVER helps them, and gives them the tools they need. He hates cruelty and selfishness (which of course always pin him against the rich, GOD) and I think it’s really beautiful that when Marta insists she’s being treated well and almost confesses, he stops her, but he doesn’t force her to keep the house. He doesn’t even get Ransom committed - Marta lying about Fran dying got him to confess, and Benoit had NOTHING to do with that. Marta succeeded because of her kindness and follow through and determination, and only almost failed because she was too trusting with the wrong people. The same thing with Helen. When it came down to them failing, Miles winning, the letter burned - he didn’t do anything. He just handed her some liquid courage and turned and LEFT. Everything else that happened was ENTIRELY UP TO HER and she succeeded entirely on her own. He gave her the truth, helped her gather the courage to take what she was owed, and watched her burn down Miles Bron with her own two hands. GOD these movies are so poetic and well done and layeredddddd every detail is so important I’m going to cry

[stars-bean]

Knives Out (2019) dir. Rian Johnson

[prokopetz]

Imagine what the titles of the Benoit Blanc series are going to look like in a couple of decades if they continue the apparent pattern of adding one more syllable with each sequel.

[thebibliosphere]

Do you think Bruce Wayne would flirt with Benoit Blanc?

I think if Bruce ever found himself in a situation to meet Benoit Blanc, to his great chagrin, it’d be as Brucie Wayne. He’d be on some rich fuck’s island under cover when a murder happens and it’d be killing him that he can’t break cover to get a closer look at the body. And then along comes Benoit Blanc and Bruce decides, well he’s Brucie right now, it’d be weird if he didn’t flirt a little.

And hey, who knows, if Blanc likes him maybe he’ll let Bruce tag along and get into places Brucie wouldn’t normally be if he wasn’t trying to seduce this weirdly accented, tall glass of deductive skills. (And maybe he’s enjoying it a little more than he should, but technically he’s on vacation so…)

Blanc, of course, catches on and thinks Bruce has something to hide and is keeping him close because he thinks he’s either the killer or in on it.

Except that’s not what the evidence or instincts are actually telling him. Not really.

But he also can’t ignore the fact that Bruce managed to trip and fall directly into the filing cabinet in the office, causing the drawer to fly open and reveal the evidence Blanc’s looking for. Or that the billionaire has a slightly delayed reaction to seeing blood. Not much, but enough for Blanc to notice.

There’s also the way he keeps making suggestions that on the surface seem benign, but are nevertheless intended to lead Blanc toward where his own instincts are telling him to look. So either Brucie is one of those killers who likes to be involved in the investigation because they want to make sure you’re noticing their ‘genius’ or because they think they can control the narrative by being helpful, or…

“Y’know something, Mister Wayne…”

“Benoit, please,” Bruce says with a slow, seductive smile that unfurls like silk over rich velvet. “How many times do I have to ask? Call me Bruce.”

“… Bruce. You’ve been so remarkably helpful.”

“Oh, you know me. I always aim to please.”

Bruce’s smile takes on an electric edge that makes Benoit’s thumb slide to the gold wedding band on his ring finger. He’s a married man, he’s a married man…

“I can’t help but wonder, though,” Benoit says, matching Bruce’s smile for a knowing one of his own. “Don’t you get tired?”

His tone is off, he knows it is because Bruce’s expression doesn’t flicker, not even a jot. It’s just unnatural enough to be telling.

“Tired of what?” the younger man asks, just the right amount of cheerful confusion in his voice and an adorable title of his head like a puppy to make you miss the sharpness behind his eyes. The way his body is coiling tight. Ready for a fight.

“Of pretending,” Benoit says, lifting a cigar to his mouth, making a show of patting down his pockets for the lighter. “I know I surely do. It grates on a man, always being underestimated. Everyone thinking you’re not as sharp as you are. Not as clever, not as quick. It must be a relief, I think, to finally be seen…”

The hand that had been rummaging in his pocket shoots out, aiming for Bruce’s perfect face. Bruce deflects it, twisting Benoit’s hand in a viper-like move Benoit hasn’t seen since…

“Ra’s doesn’t train just anyone,” he says, acutely aware of how much Bruce’s expression has changed without so much of a flicker of muscle. How sharp and hard the angles of his face have become. How deadly. “I confess, I didn’t see it at first. You’re very good, Bruce. I never would have put two and two together if you hadn’t twisted Haggart’s elbow the way you did when he tried to grab Maxine.” He smiles self-deprecatingly. “Take that as a compliment from one detective to another… Batman.”