Harlan wouldn’t have died at all if someone had just called a flippin’ ambulance.Īpart from poor Fran, everything worked out just as Harlan might have hoped - an intricate mystery solved, the last laugh on his ingrate family, the patsy vindicated. This means Ransom unwittingly tricked his grandfather into cutting his own throat, then killed Fran to cover it up. But she actually administered the correct doses, having immediately recognized the “feel” or viscosity of each injection, even after Ransom had swapped the bottles. Ransom, Harlan, and even Marta herself all failed to account for her expertise and familiarity with her patient’s medications. So he burned down the records facility and abducted Fran, who later died from - you guessed it - a morphine overdose. After hearing her side of things, Ransom was desperate to maintain the illusion of his innocence and keep the report secret. Claire Folger / Lionsgateįor much of the film, Marta is utterly convinced that she accidentally killed Harlan, and tells Ransom as much during their diner pow-wows. Ransom revises his plot after several drinks. The report proved Marta actually hadn’t given Harlan a lethal overdose. She saw Ransom in the attic fiddling with the bottles, and also had access to Harlan’s toxicology report - via her cousin, who she mentions in passing early on. But there was another unexpected complication, in the form of the housekeeper, Fran. Ransom then hired Benoit Blanc to investigate the unexpected suicide by throat-cut, still hoping to frame Marta for the “murder” and trigger the slayer rule. Harlan threw a wrench into Ransom’s plan by cutting his own throat in an attempt to pre-emptively vindicate Marta, convinced he was about to die due to her innocent mistake. With this scenario in mind, Ransom switched the labels on the two medication bottles in Marta’s medical bag and removed the antidote meant to be used in the event of morphine overdose. With her out of the way, the money would go to the family, presumably divided equally among the families of each of Harlan’s three children, and likely a hefty share for Ransom himself. Ransom then decides to kill his grandfather and frame Marta for the crime, knowing that the so-called “slayer rule” of inheritance law - yes, this is a Real Thing - disqualifies a killer from claiming their victim’s assets. Eventually, these flashbacks culminate in the revelation that Ransom is the only member of the family who knew of his grandfather’s plan to disinherit everyone and leave his fortune to his loyal nurse and confidant, Marta. Throughout the film, we see snippets of a shouting match between Harlan and Ransom in his study. That’s right, Cap’s gone from being “America’s ass” to “America’s asshole” in less than a year. However, the person responsible for his death is Ransom Drysdale, the grandson in the enviable cable-knit sweater played by Chris Evans. That element of the story didn’t change from the film’s opening moments. She convinced Harlan to financially cut off each of his children. She had to establish this pattern early on to gain Harlan’s trust so that when she does lie to him, he believes her. Technically, Harlan killed himself by cutting his throat. Marta has planned this caper for a long time, at least a year ago when she ‘involuntarily’ threw up while lying during a family board game. Harlan's 85th birthday party in 'Knives Out.' Claire Folger / Lionsgate
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