Harlan's Portrait Seems Different

When the movie first gives a glimpse of the Thrombey mansion, which is the main setting of the film, one of the first noticeable things is the large portrait of the family patriarch, Harlan Thrombey. The stern and stoic look of Harlan in this picture seems to suggest he is the intimidating figure overlooking everything. However, when the painting is shown near the end of the film, something has changed about it. Once Marta is cleared of all wrongdoing and takes control of the house, she goes to look at the portrait. The stern, serious look on Harlan's face is now replaced with an approving smirk.

Different Versions Of The Same Story

When audiences are first introduced to the large Thrombey family, they don't necessarily seem like bad people. However, their self-centered and conniving ways soon begin to shine through. Director Rian Johnson hints at this early on. When each of the Thrombey children tells their version of the night of Harlan's birthday party, we see their version of the events with one small detail that keeps changing. Each of the children pictures themselves at Harlan's side when the cake arrives, hinting that they are now trying to present themselves as the perfect children.

Harlan Thrombey's Name

Though he doesn't last long in the movie, Harlan Thrombey is an essential part of the story and the late Christopher Plummer does a great job of giving the character gravitas and warmth in the role. But even Harlan's unusual name is one of the many Knives Out hidden details, as it seems as though Johnson was inspired by an obscure source. There was a choose-you-own-adventure novel called Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey? which seems to be a clear influence on the character's name.

Something Is Afoot

In Knives Out's ending, Marta asks Benoit Blanc when he began suspecting she had something to do with Harlan's death. Benoit explains that it was when he first met her, as he immediately noticed the spot of blood on her shoe. Looking back at that scene where they meet for the first time, Blanc takes an extra look at her feet. He also seems to hint at this knowledge throughout the film without Marta knowing. He continues to make comments like "Something is afoot" or "the game is afoot" directed to Marta and hinting at the major clue he has noticed.

Richard Disrespects Marta

While most of the Thrombey family is innocent of murder, that doesn't actually make them good people. Early in the movie, the family talks often about how they like Marta and see her as one of the family. This quickly changes when Marta is made the heir to Harlan's fortune, but there were hints even before that. During a flashback to the party, Richard calls Marta over to their ignorant conversation about immigration. As they talk, he absent-mindedly hands Marta his dirty plate, showing that he sees her as little more than "the help" even though she is Harlan's personal nurse.

Song Choices

Along with the movie taking the title from a Radiohead song, Johnson also used music that happened to align with a few important aspects of the mystery at hand. When Marta and Ransom are in the bar, Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" is playing, which features the lyrics, "if I find you creepin' 'round my back stairs," similar to Marta sneaking into the house. The movie ends with The Rolling Stones' "Sweet Virginia," which features the lyrics, "got to scrape that s*** right off your shoe" which speaks to the incriminating blood on Marta's shoe.

The Baseball That Travels

With so many Knives Out hidden details, it's easy to overlook the brilliant payoffs in some of the smaller subplots. One such subplot involves Harlan revealing to his daughter Linda that her husband Richard is having an affair. As it turns out, Richard plays a major hand in causing Linda to find out. After Richard sees the letter Harlan wrote to Linda is apparently blank, he throws Harlan's baseball out the window. Blanc later finds the ball and throws it to the dog. The dog later brings the ball to Linda who returns it to Harlan's office, where she finds the letter. If Richard hadn't thrown the ball, the letter might have gone unnoticed.

The Missing Phone

One of the most interesting Knives Out hidden details was revealed by Rian Johnson himself and one that he its could spoil many movies in the future. Most of the characters in the film are seen constantly on their phones, all of which are iPhones. One character audiences don't see using such a phone is Ransom, who later turns out to be the real killer. Oddly enough, this was a requirement, as Apple does not allow villains in movies to use their products, therefore revealing Ransom's evil ways.

Great Nana Wanetta's Age

The Thrombey family is filled with interesting and hilarious characters, but the most underrated of the bunch is Great Nana Wanetta. Great Nana is an impossibly old woman who can barely hear and whose eyesight is not much better. Despite all of that, she inadvertently helps solve the case with that poor eyesight yet sharp memory. Great Nana is played by K Callan, a prolific actor who has appeared in shows like Veep and Justified. Surprisingly, though Great Nana is meant to be the mother of Harlan Thrombey, played by Christopher Plummer, Callan is actually a few years younger than Plummer.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Cameo

While there is no shortage of stars in the movie, one of its biggest names is one of the many Knives Out hidden details. Fans of Johnson's films might have noticed the absence of one particular actor, as Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Johnson are regular collaborators, and the actor was the star of the director's first movie, Brick. The trend was kept up in Knives Out even though it's one of his most inconspicuous appearances. Gordon-Levitt is credited as Detective Hardrock, but it's a voice-only role, as he's the policeman on the crime show Marta's sister is watching at the beginning of the movie.