Script Analysis: “Knives Out” — Part 4: Themes

Read and analyze the script for the hit crime comedy starring an all-star cast including Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.

Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Dialogue
Saturday: Takeaways

Today: Themes.

I have this theory about theme. In two parts. First, a principle: Theme = Meaning. What does the story mean? Second, while there is almost always a Central Theme, there are multiple other Sub-Themes at play in a story. Therefore the question: What does a story mean takes on several layers of meaning?

Time to ponder themes in Knives Out. You can download the script here.

Written by Rian Johnson.

Plot Summary: A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.

Major kudos to Dan Gorski for doing this week’s scene-by-scene breakdown.

To download a PDF of the breakdown for Knives Out, click here.

For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown discussion, go here.

For Part 2, to read the Plot discussion, go here.

For Part 3, to read the Character discussion, go here.

I hope to see you in the RESPONSE section about this week’s script: Knives Out.