The film Knives Out, directed by Rian Johnson and released in 2019, takes a deeper look into entitlement and abuse of power that grew from unchecked privilege. The film follows the detective case of Benoit Blanc as he studies the case of Harlan Thrombey’s mysterious death. Harlan Thrombey was a crime novelist, a wealthy man, with a large family and a personal nurse, Marta.
Marta, the main protagonist, becomes close with Detective Blanc during the investigation as she held a different position in the case compared to the rest of the family. The Thrombey family treats and talks about Marta with a sense of entitlement over her due to her race and class. The Thrombey family is privileged due to their stable social and economic power, both of which Marta lack due to her undocumented mother.
This relationship, between Marta and the Thrombey’s, is much like the master – slave dialect. For much of the film, Marta is the slave and the Thrombey family is the master. This is due to both parties understanding where their social standings rank in relation to the other; for example, Marta was only present among the family as Harlan Thrombey’s nurse, and nothing else. However, after Harlan’s will was read, the relationship flipped. Marta become the master as she inherited everything, thus making the Thrombey family the slave. This flip is an important part of the film as it removed any power and privilege the Thrombey’s had due to their easy access to money, and left them in a state of confusion and chaos.
This film has the ability to make the audience think after it finishes. Marta is in a completely different position from the start of the film, and it is beneficial to reflect back as to how it happened. To close this off, it is important to build relationships off of the quality and character of a person, rather than how much money they will give you, because a strong relationship built off of character will take you farther in life. And Marta is the perfect example of that.