Knives Out - What's with the baseball?
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- Rian Johnson's murder mystery masterpiece leaves some people scratching their head over what was going on with the baseball. In this video essay, I show how the baseball was used for two purposes: 1) It is a practical device that moves the story forward and 2) It is a key to unlocking the main theme of the entire movie.
#knivesout #knivesoutmeaning #knivesoutanalysis #movieanalysis #filmanalysis
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The fact that Richard didn’t realize that the letter had a secret message also shows that he didn’t really pay much attention to his wife.
Very true!
i was also thinking this
I bet only reason Richard Married
Linda because Her father is Loaded
I'm your 1k like. Yeah he doesn't seem to pay attention to much of anything really.
@@MoralofthisStory Is It possible That Martha Could Be Harlan's Secret Daughter
I like how you can catch a glimpse of a bowl of lemons on Harlan's desk when Richard sneaks in to see the letter, and again when Linda returns the baseball. Using lemon juice as ink is a common method for invisible ink.
I also love the fact that despite all the symbolism, it’s also a literal base ball. It is thrown: signalling the beginning of a play, then it is received three times (by LeBlanc, The Dog, Then Linda): much like the bases of a field, and is then returned to the place of the pitch: signalling the end of a play. It’s a great visual clue that very little people would be privy to throughout the movie.
Oh my god, you're right! I always woundered why the ball only got passed around three times, because I thought it was funny and wanted the ball to go to more places, but that makes so much sense! I just love this movie and its details!
I also like the literal laces on a baseball, the way that the characters stories need to be laced together.
@@kayc7298
You're thinking too far..
Except the baseball doesn't go to the 3 different bases on any standard play, and the end of a play isn't called exclusively when the pitcher receives the ball. That makes zero sense
@@kayc7298 I also like the literal knives, indicating that someone had died in the movie 😮
I also love the end scene with the mug, where Marta has blocked off the "my rules, my coffee" parts, but the "my house" is clearly visible. A very not-so-subtle final dig at the family
Another example of Karma is how Ransom is the one who hires Blanc to try and have Martha wrongly arrested, though Blanc actually becomes the one to expose his lies.
Yes, I love that.
I never noticed the Harlan painting expression change at all! Such a mindblowing, clever little detail, just like the baseball! Great video!
I noticed it but only because at the moment it scared the sh¡t out of me, no idea why! Sort of a little jumpscare I guess
2:09 - also the other clue in that scene is that even when Blanc has the Baseball in that scene the dogs don’t bark, remember that one of the other big clues about the night of harlan’s death is that the dogs barked.
If you pay attention the only character the dogs bark for is Ransom.
Good catch.
And like blanc said - a dog is the best judge of character. We knew he was the only evil one straight from the start.
@@harveyhodgson8782 Never been bitten by a random dog on first sight? Dogs are also a reflection of their psychopathic owners
Nice insight. I also think that the flip of the coin symbolizes the flip of the movie as in we now don't need to search for the killer anymore, we know exactly what happened and it flips the story, just like the coin.
Very good insight!
Wow I didn’t think about how this is a reverse murder mystery with a slightly limited less omniscient perspective. We know as much as Marta
So it can basically be summed up with: what goes around, comes around. Quite literally, in the baseball's case. Great video! I was hoping somebody would discuss this on RUclips.
Thank you. Glad you liked it.
The baseball still ended up returning to its original spot, but it was how it got back to its spot and who put it there
One additional meaning of the baseball that you didn't mention: It's the metaphor for "gravity's rainbow" - Blanc tells Marta his method is to "anticipate the arc" of the truth, whereupon he (literally) leisurely "strolls to its terminus" and picks it up, exactly as he does with the thrown baseball.
My mind is now blown! It is Gravity's Rainbow. That is genius.
Also why he didn't interrogate Marta right there. The very question "did you kill him" would have incriminated her since she fully believed she did. Even as the most obvious piece of evidence was staring back at his face. He follows his philosophy.
@@Electronica27 he didn't because he knew she was there. If you watch closely the scene where he meets Marta, he instantly recognizes the blood on her shoe
@@levick2412 You didn't read my whole comment, she didn't interrogate him BECAUSE HE WAS FOLLOWING HIS OWN PHILOSOPHY. Despite seeing a smoking gun/bloody knife in front of him, he controlled himself and it got him to the right answer.
Chekhov's baseball, i love it. Very Edgar Wright-esque, how it glides through the storylines
Chekhov's baseball indeed! Thanks for the comment.
Buddy, I think you mean it "rolls" through the storylines
I'll see myself out
Thanks for the comment - led me to learn about Chekhovs gun.
When Richard threw the ball I just realised now. He lives in a glass house and threw a stone. Which then got thrown back at him and broke his own house. I didn't realise how strongly that saying was about karma
the end of this video reminded me just how much i love the final scene of this movie. the whole family turns around to see marta staring down at them while she drinks from a mug with her hand covering all the words except for "my house"
my house my rules my coffee!!
The fact that the painting changes to smile the way they talk about the mona lisa doing in glass onion is kinda wild, I wonder if it's another directing decision or just a coincidence
The Mona Lisa painting also changes in Glass Onion.
I just watched this and had completely forgotten about the baseball by the end of the film. Well done, this makes me appreciate even more. Thank you!
Thank you!
As a movie enthusiast all I can do is show my appreciation for that. Very good job
Thank you!
I love following the baseball throughout the movie. Blanc, the dog, and Linda all were observant which eventually led Linda to the note. Richard thought he had the last laugh when he threw the ball out the window, but in the end, Harlan had the last laugh.
I didn’t even notice the portrait change, after watching twice! This is a movie with so much in it, even a second viewing doesn’t catch all of it!
Honestly, I knew that as soon as Linda had the baseball, she’d find the time to put it back in its place in Harlan’s office, where she’d find the letter from her dad, and since she knew how her father communicated with her, I knew that she’d read the letter before the movie was up
THE PAINTING CHANGING IS A DETAIL I NEVER KNEW AND I LOVE SO MUCH OH M Y GO D
It’s a Game he played with his children. His house, his rules and only his daughter had learned those rules and could play (Mata won by playing her own way). He always puts a spin on the ball, he’s the pitcher/picture and he struck his heirs out one by one.
This was a beautiful analysis. It was such a fun movie, one forgets to look deeper. Thanks for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I appreciate you for getting to the point and not stretching it to 10 minutes. Liked and subscribed!
Thanks Rizal!
I'd have never noticed the portrait change without seeing it spelled out here. Thanks.
what I really love is that when we get to see the death how we are shown exactly what happened but we end up surprised when in the end we find out that's what actually happened.
everyone is so sure that there is something more that even if it's been shown in every detail the actual cause of death comes as a surprise 🤣
i did notice that the ball was probably important bit i couldnt figure out how, i kept expecting it to just be a one time "huh the ball is here therefore This must have happened", and this idea apparently kept me so busy that i completely missed the whole point haha, thanks for the video i feel very enlightened
The base ball, represents the following, "play" harlan likes games, "foul play" which happens in the movie, "safe and out" could mean who get the inheritance, the ball going to different possession could mean that it all comes back to the beginning.
I like it 👍
base ball is important becuase its such a ROUND shape and a ROUND film. Have you SEEN the amount of god damn circles in this film?? The ring of knives, the round GO pieces, the flipped coin, all the orb lighting in the house. And of course, the baseball. Which comes back to where it starts. What goes around comes a round ;)
amazing how 5 minute essay about such a minor thing in the movie managed to get to me most of the majorly 10 minutes ones. when you said 'karma has returned' with the music arising in the background it was just chefs kiss
Thanks Arcanjo. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
A lot of great details here but the portrait one really was amazing, I had no clue it changed , thats some insane attention to detail in this movie
Glad you liked it!
Nice 2 see this video :] I caught the baseball on my first viewing and was CONVINCED it was going to end up being a clue somehow, so this analysis is a nice explanation of what it means.
Completely randomly found your RUclips Chanel, good job! Congrats from Belgium!
Thank you very much!
Late, but tell Hercule Poirot I said hi
Hmmmm. I saw the baseball as truth. Blanc says that the truth inevitably comes and lands at his feet, which is what that baseball does in the beginning scene. Just my theory. Thanks for the great video. Love this movie!
Well said
I'm proud of seeing the invisible ink letter writing marks in my first watch
Oh thank you for explaining it. I noticed there was some sort of directing attention to the baseball but couldnt figure out why
It's funny how weakly he throws it. He's not launching as hard as he can, he just tosses it out. that made me think the baseball had a deeper relevance to their relationship perhaps.
Harlowe, and the Mona Lisa - enigmatic smiles
Unrelated but I've always loved the "My house" shot at the end of the film
Me too
I took it to mean the ball is perspective and control. The beginning of the movie Harlan is in complete control and the film is from his perspective. Then, after he leaves the ball in the angel statue, he passes away, symbolizes Harlan's COMPLETE control fading away. It is in this moment that Harlan is relinquishing control to the one person who is worthy - Marda. Marda is figuratively and literally the angel on Harlan's shoulder. But it also represents Harlan telling the audience that the "ball is in our court." This occurs right after the line "its hard but its for the best."
Btw, I love the way Christopher Plummer said "double dipping" right after slamming the ball down.
I love this movie and it deserved a better sequel than Glass Dogshit
I agree. Thanks for your insights!
Didn't see the eyes behind the dad's desk... Eyes in the back of his head :)
Sweet analysis my dude!! I never noticed the painting thing.
One often meets their fate in their attempts to escape it.
a great short video! can't believe you packed all that into 5 minutes. well done
I agree with your interpretation of the meaning of the baseball and how it relates to Karma, but for a moment it made me think this makes Harlan a bit of a hypocrite. After all, he raised his children and gave them the privilege that corrupted them. If Harlan despises their flaws, certainly he was responsible for helping to cultivate those flaws and allowing them to spread onto their spouses and children.
Yet Harlan himself admits responsibility and wonders how he might have done things differently just before taking his own life. So if Ransom is willing to commit murder and intends to kill Harlan, in a sense Harlan himself could be seen as responsible. Even if this is untrue, it appears Harlan would have considered it to be so.
Since Ransom attempted to plot Harlan's death, maybe we can see Harlan's suicide as acceptance of responsibility for Ransom's actions.
Maybe I've worded this poorly, but does my theory make sense?
I agree with your assessment. Harlan is somewhat responsible. And in a weird meta way he seems to recognize that he deserves to die and is excited by it.
@@MoralofthisStory Thank you for responding -- it sounds like you understand what I was trying to say, though I was having trouble wording my thoughts!
In fact, Harlan is punished by karma too. After all he ended up killing himself when there was no need, all because of some sort of hubris
@@camillamerighi6833 I think Harlan's fault is his flair for the dramatic. His conflicts with Ransom are public and messy - which both Ransom and Harlow (on some level) enjoy. Ransom's attempt to murder him and his own counter play (suicide) is their ultimate messy fight.
If Harlow was a calmer, less dramatic person he would have followed his nurse's advice, called an ambulance, and survived.
@@rakino4418 yes I agree! I believe in both aspects - I did not explain the one you discussed very well, but I definitely think that. But there is also a component of a high consideration of himself, that together with his love for drama lead him to look for a cunning solution where he can be the hero
honestly i was focussed on the baseball because i couldnt stop thinking about deep space 9 and captain sisko's baseball, similarly crowned on his desk and used as a form of symbolism. also, sisko likes ye olde baseball
and i focussed on the coin because of Connor in Detroit: Become Human - flipped and played with in a similar way also. its the first thing you see when starting the game - Connor is also a detective
I missed it while watching. Thanks.
I watched for the baseball but my biggest reveal was the portrait.
Wow, the portrait at the end!!
This unrelated but I really hope Christopher Plummer got the portait of his character at the end of filming
Yes. I wonder what did happen to them.
Ha! I thought there was something significant about the baseball! But I only find out after watching the film and listening to your analysis. Great work! Man, I love English studies!
Glad you liked it.
when you mention karma; I was thinking about how she returns the baseball and in return finds the note!
Wow, there is so much going on in this film that I never even noticed the journey of the baseball! Say whatever you want about...that other little movie he wrote and directed that causes people to lose their minds just at the mention of its title....but when Johnson gets it right, he hits it out of the park (pun intended)!
Amazing analysis. Thanks for making this in such a straightforward way. You should get more views!
#500 glad I stumbled across this channel. It's a nice compliment to Movies With Mickey.
I hadn't heard of Movies with Mickey. I will check it out.
Insightful and helpful. Thank you very much!
Dang I didn't actually catch the change in the portrait, great vid!
Been puzzling about the baseball since my first watching of Knives Out. Thank you for the insights.
Without a doubt my favorite movie of that year I even purchased it all the actors are great, I also noticed you the role the ball played as well as a coin Bravo good job
Yes, it was great!
Blanc emphasises that the case is a donut within a donut a couple times. A baseball sort of looks like one…
Also, Conway's Baseball Conjecture: No two definitions of "the correct baseball curve" will give the same answer unless their equivalence is obvious from the start.
Marta’s vomiting serves as a YES / NO device (like in a computer) so that the problem created by Harlan (the mystery of his murder) is solvable and all paths lead to 1 (even with Ransom’s interference). The Collatz conjecture is a famous unsolved mathematical problem, this concept also relates to how long it takes a computer to solve the problem.
I’m terrible at maths and don’t understand computer science - just amateur detective work off Wikipedia. hopefully someone with a computer science degree finds this interesting or can express the idea more clearly.
I was so excited to see this movie when it came out, I love a good murder mystery. I clearly need to watch it again, as the first time I just enjoyed the story, but now I can appreciate all of the details
Such a beautiful explanation. I just saw the movie and it makes a lot of sense .
Cabreras RUUUUUULESSS!!! xD
See Richard could have just destroyed the blank letter, he could have moved it, she could have just wandered in bit it was a neat tie in. Richard only threw it cuz the dude was handling it when he exposed him. It passed between two humans at first but it was only the dog being a dog and the daughter recognising it had a rightful place could it make the full circle.
You laid this out very clearly
RIP Mr ⭐Plummer⭐ you will Forever Be a Legend 🙏🏿💖🙏🏿💖🙏🏿
Very nice insights. Thanks. I subscribed for more insights.
Wow, please keep making videos! Loved this!
This is great!! Well done man
Thank you, Kevin.
I always like to think the baseball also hints to Linda being the best of the shitty family. All had their malicious motives, even Meg when she realised something was at stake for her she turned on Marta. However Linda I feel like was always shown to be in the biggest state of grieving, and the most happened to her. Her dad died and a detective was hired suggesting one of her family members killed her father, her husband was cheating on her her son killed her father her husband did not even wanna have a look at what if Ransom killed Harlan, he just wanted to fight the charges instantly while Linda obviously needed to think bout it first. In scenes it was shown Linda was the only one rly telling personal stories about Harlan and for example made sure when she realised the dogs had the baseball to bring it back to where her father always had it. Besides all of this it felt like she was the only one who rly built anything for herself, be it with a huge loan from Harlan, but therefore was now the least reliant on the will meaning most of her emotional outbursts will actually have come from grief rather then greed. I never saw ppl talk bout this tho so always wanted to know if others agreed or not
Good observations. I agree that it was probably the worst on her.
I enjoy your videos, thank you.
HOLY SHIT THIS VIDEO IS AWESOME
Thanks Tomas
Bro this video felt so quick
Great video, worthy of this masterpiece of a film!
Well done Uncle Kev!!
Thanks!
THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL THOOO
Now that's a great insight. Perfect reveal. Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
I hated those movie but thanks to a great interpretation I respect it.
Wow. Thanks.
Nice vid, hope you do one for the sequel.
I love the video but why didn't Harlans first daughter not deserve it, she tried to become as independent as possible (with a little help at the beginning).
She seemed to have the best claim, why didn't Harlan like her/didn't think she deserve the inheritance?
I’ve wondered that as well. My thought is that he didn’t want it to go to his cheating son in law. Plus, his oldest daughter doesn’t need it. She is quite successful on her own. And it makes for good cinema.
She'd already had a life, and was quite self-sufficient, especially compared to the others. She'd taken advantage of Harlan's money and connections to forge her own path, and didn't really need it anymore. Furthermore, she was in a marriage with a man who loved her father's money, not her, and was cheating on her. Ultimately, we do see that she's just like the others when it comes to Harlan's money, harassing Marta when she was obviously just as surprised as the rest of them.
Though, to be fair, I'd be enraged, too, to find out that my father had left all of his belongings to his *nurse* instead of his daughter.
I’ve always wondered. Thanks a lot. Insightful ☺️
When I first watched the movie, when it was playing out Marta’s memory of that night, I was confused why Marta wouldn’t have just stopped and listened. Harlan says exactly what happened to him. Someone switched the bottles but she had accidentally gave him the correct fluid. She wouldn’t find the antidote because that same person took it. He knew the symptoms, he knew everything and decided to kill himself solely to get back at his family members.
Harlan kinda sucks. He traumatized Marta for no reason
He killed himself to prevent Marta (and her family) from getting in trouble. It had nothing to do with getting back at his family. Changing the will was how he was teaching his family a lesson, and that was done before the bottles were switched.
Oh so that's the purpose of the baseball!
YES YES YES this video is much appreciated
no one is revealing "that look" of martha when she sat on the couch beside her mother. that evil satisfaction look
this is my favorite movie and now im blown away even more. thanks for the great vid bro!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Idk man, sorta feels like the baseball is always connected to a reveal of truth and thereby connected to the main concept of the movie, which is truth unravelling
Great video!
Thank you!
i feel like hanging a rosary in her car might just be a reference to her being a latin american immigrant; i was thinking that this might be something a lot of catholic immigrant families do (as a catholic immigrant myself), so it's more reinforcing the background of her character than a symbol of being a saint?
Agreed. I think it works for both in cases.
holy shit?? thats so clever
"Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball."
[Jacques Barzun]
The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.
I don’t really get why Linda was disinherited, she wasn’t awfull right?
So the baseball is the centerpiece of the story, like the Mona Lisa is the one in the sequel?
MY NEW FAV CHANNEL
Thanks Linus. That means a lot.
Great video wow
Brilliant
"wow" I said three times out loud
Harlon is the bad guy in knives out.
But can we talk about how weak his throw is? One shot he goes full pitcher, cut to the outside, ball barely makes it past the window.
That has always bothered me. It is a very awkward cut.
so basically is a deus ex machina
He liked baseball