The non-Chris Evans sweater knitwear of 'Knives Out,' ranked

Author’s Note: If you’ve subscribed to Knit(ting) Flicks since my last post went up at the end of October—and most of Twitter imploded on itself, sparking the creation of several new social media accounts where I shamelessly plugged the newsletter to folks in my bio/posts—welcome! I’m so thrilled to have you here! Like the Grace Kelly post I wrote back in September, this is more of a one-off piece. (If you’re viewing this in your inbox, might I suggest clicking through for the full and non-clipped knitwear extravaganza I have planned for you?)

I hope you and your loved ones have a happy new year, and hopefully, I’ll get an update in the usual format up soon.

A few years ago, a film director whom some people on the internet have a lot of strong feelings about released a movie that, in some ways, unleashed a monster.

No, I’m not referring to Star Wars: The Last Jedi (though that would definitely apply here in other ways), but rather Knives Out, the movie Rian Johnson made after his first (and hopefully not last) stint in a galaxy far, far away. Both a critical and financial success—it made over $300 million worldwide on a $40 million budget—Knives Out got Johnson his first Oscar nomination and likely rejuvenated people’s interest in the whodunit, which is probably why we’re starting to see more of them being made. Including Johnson, who signed a lucrative deal with Netflix in early 2020 to make two more films around Daniel Craig’s gentleman sleuth Benoit Blanc¹ .

It wasn’t just Johnson’s subversion of a genre and the kinds of mysteries found in the Agatha Christie novels he loves, or the all-star cast, or the absurdity of Craig’s obnoxiously endearing southern drawl that grows on you that made Knives Out such a memorable movie. It’s the dozens of sweaters, cardigans, scarves, vests, and gloves—but especially a distressed white Aran sweater donned by Captain America, paired with the kind of wild virality that a movie studio can't buy—that brought the world to life. (All the credit goes to costume designer and knitwear queen Jenny Eagan, who returned to style the disruptors of Glass Onion—and struck gold yet again with Blanc’s blue and white striped bathing suit.) It also led me to start writing about cinematic knitwear, so I am quite fond of it.

It’s something I kept an eye on during the two Knives Out press screenings I attended in 2019. The first time, I jokingly told people I was going for the sweaters, and I came out of it with a quite silly theory² that I immediately sent to one of my colleagues and talked my roommate’s ear off about after we got out of the screening. And when I saw it a second time before interviewing Eagan, I really did watch it primarily for the knitwear.

[tl;dr The more complex the ribs, twists, and cables on a character’s sweater were, the more they had to hide. And here are the three characters with the most intricate sweaters in the movie:

1. Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), who secretly cut off all his kids financially and left everything to Marta (Ana de Armas) and tried to orchestrate a full-proof suicide so Marta wouldn’t get into trouble with authorities for accidentally killing him or lead to her mother being deported because of it.

2. Walt Thrombey (Michael Shannon), who, on top of being fired from Harlan’s publishing wing, tried to pressure Marta into giving all of Harlan’s wealth back to the Thrombeys and suggested her mother could be in legal trouble because of her newfound notoriety as Harlan’s sole heir.

3. And Ransom Drysdale (Evans), who knew about the Thrombeys being cut off, who knew Marta was getting everything, who set Marta up to accidentally kill Harlan and take the blame, who burned down a lab that contained the evidence to clear her name, and who murdered Fran (Edi Patterson) when she tried blackmailing him. And when everything is out in the open, Ransom’s sweater is completely devoid of cables.

…Yeah, it’s a lot.]

Glass Onion, Johnson’s newest Benoit Blanc mystery, doesn’t have a whole ton of knitwear given the Greek isle setting; there are a couple worn by a character in short succession whose identity is a spoiler, but they won’t get even a smidge of the attention that the Chris Evans sweater did. But I’m using its release as an excuse to revisit the other pieces of Knives Out because I’ve been saying for the last three years that many of them are just as good as The Sweater but without all of Ransom’s blatant disregard for Sweater Maintenance. Plus, I’ve already analyzed The Sweater several times, and frankly, I don’t want to write about it again.

I recently revisited Knives Out and screenshotted every other sweater, cardigan, knitted hat, glove, and scarf I could spot for this list. The grand total? 34 pieces of knitwear. (The infamous Evans sweater would make 35.) Marta wears the most pieces of knitwear at 10, while Harlan, Joni (Toni Collette), and Mr. Proofroc (M. Emmett Walsh) are all tied with the fewest pieces at one each.

There were a few cases where I couldn’t get a clear screenshot, the lighting was iffy, or it was unclear whether the garment in question was a sweater. But because I’m doing this for fun, I just chose to ignore them. Patterson’s Fran also proved to be elusive; she’s constantly in motion, so in cases where she had on knitwear, I went with the best shot I could get. And when it seemed questionable—e.g. one of Richard’s (Don Johnson) zip-ups, Marta’s sleepwear—I ruled in its favor. (Unless otherwise credited, all of these photos are screenshots from my digital copy of Knives Out.)

But without further adieu, may I present to you a completely biased ranking³ of every piece of non-Chris Evans Aran sweater knitwear in Knives Out that, like any good ranking, will annoy absolutely nobody⁴ .

34) Harlan’s green knitted cap (donned by Marta)

Harlan’s hat doesn’t stand out too much when Marta briefly wears his clothing to fool his family—and investigators—compared to many of the other items on this list; you might miss it on a watch or two. But it’s one more instance of showcasing the famed mystery novelist’s keen fashion choices.

33) Donna’s pink twisted cable sweater

Knives Out has a murderer’s row of talent among its cast, but that sometimes means a few people get overshadowed. That’s very much the case for Donna Thrombey (Riki Lindhome): Her son Jacob (Jaeden Martell) is memorably described by Blanc as “the Nazi child masturbating in the bathroom,” while her husband is played by the always memorable Michael Shannon. Donna is in many of the group scenes, but she doesn’t get a specific arc like most of Harlan’s family; she doesn’t even get a moment in the pointy hot seat like Thrombey siblings Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Walt, 20-somethings Meg (Katherine Langford) and Marta, and fellow in-laws Richard and Joni.

And that also goes for her second sweater of the film, which is near-identical to the blue twisted cable number (you’ll find it higher on the list) but in pink. The fact that the best shot of it comes in a wide shot of everyone like this…not great, Bob.

32) Walt’s dark green pullover

Something that always stood out to me in Knives Out’s production notes was Eagan’s comments about Walt’s garments and how he “tries, but just misses the mark.” And compared to Ransom’s fit on the same day…welp.

31) Marta’s lavender cardigan

Probably my least favorite item of clothing that Marta owns in the entire movie, but it does give a bit of brightness to the warm tones of—given the sheer quantity of Marta and Fran’s knitwear in the film—Harlan’s definitely drafty mansion.

30) Fran’s light gray cardigan

You wouldn’t think that Fran would have so many sweaters in a movie she’s not in all that much—this is the first of five that I’m including on this list—but she does! We see very little of the gray cardigan she confronts Ransom in (this is the clearest shot I could get), but it still makes its mark as Fran tries to get one final message across.

29) Marta’s mom’s light gray cardigan

Another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sweater courtesy of Marta’s mom (Marlene Forte), who is literally credited as “Marta’s Mom” in the end credits versus Johnson giving her a character an actual name.

28) Jacob’s navy and burgundy twisted cable sweater v-neck vest

Jacob may be an alt-right troll, but he’s also an alt-right troll who more or less sticks to one look; this is his second v-neck sweater with a trim on it. But in the final act, he’s a nonentity, so his other one ranks higher on the list.

Side note: Shoutout to Wanetta “Greatnana” Thrombey (K Callan), who Johnson describes in his screenplay as “a woman who might be three hundred years old. She pounds down chips and dip like a machine.” Amazing detail.

27) Fran’s gray and beige fair isle sweater

Fran, Harlan’s housekeeper, is always on the move, which is why the best look at this number comes when she’s storming out of the house while complaining about how much of an asshole Ransom is.

26) Richard’s zippered navy pullover

Is this a sweater? Not sure! But it feels like a duplicate of the zippered sweater from the will reading day, and like Donna and Jacob, Richard only really has one shirt in several colors.

25) Marta’s light blue v-neck pullover

Same with this one: It could be a sweater or have just enough detail on it to make it look like a sweater. Not sure I could sleep in one, but whatever works.

24) Meg’s black cap (with red and black pom-pom)

It looks warm, which—if you’re going to get hat hair—is really the important thing here.

23) Meg’s dark purple duster cardigan

In writing this newsletter, I learned that a cardigan that hits your knees or longer is called a duster cardigan, and I find that bit of info delightful.

22) Fran’s turquoise cardigan

Turquoise is a good color for gossip, you know?

21) Marta’s blue fingerless gloves (with tips cut off/designed that way)

I prefer fingerless gloves—both the ones without specific fingers and the ones with the ends cut off like they are here—over smart-tech gloves you can use your smartphone with sometimes, even if they’re not as practical in the warmth department.

20) Ransom’s gray cardigan (on top of a white henley)

Early in the movie—like before Evans shows up to steal the show—there is a photo of the Drysdales visible from the library, and they’re all wearing the exact same outfits from Harlan’s birthday. And I get production limits and whatnot, but I find that detail amusing.

19) Marta’s deep blue pullover

In the brief scene where Harlan reveals the extent of Joni’s double-dipping, Marta is Peak Hygge: She’s got a sweater, a book, and a cup of tea. She only needs a blanket to complete the look.

18) Walt’s brown argyle sweater

Someone should tell Walt to stop leaning so heavily on the browns, but he gets points for bringing argyle into the mix.

17) Fran’s purple cardigan (with sparkly owl brooch)

Why yes, the owl brooch gives this look extra points in the tally.

16) Mr. Proofroc’s forest green pullover

A very practical fit for someone who keeps to himself in a building near the edge of the property.

15) Marta’s multicolored (pink, brown, gray, purple, black, and blue) striped pullover

The striped colors in this sweater shouldn’t work together at all, especially paired with her green pants, and yet! (Not the first time this will happen with Marta.)

14) Jacob’s white, blue, and pink twisted v-neck cable sweater

High school prep meets Gen Z douchebag. Perfection.

13) Donna’s blue twisted cable sweater

The (definitely racist) family that cables together, stays together.

12) Marta’s variegated cardigan

I need this color yarn, like stat.

11) Fran’s light purple cardigan

Fran gets the first sweater and line of dialogue in the movie, and she makes the most of it.

10) Marta’s mom’s blue and purple cardigan

I also need this blue-purple combo that Marta’s mom wears right next to her. Which also has the bonus of including some minor cabling.

9) Meg’s black and white patterned duster cardigan

I’ve been dinging day 2 and 3 knitwear that looks like copies of what they already wore for most of the characters, but Meg gets points for having a duster cardigan that isn’t visually similar to her purple one.

8) Richard’s blue zippered pullover

Linda is one of the only characters—and the only Thrombey/Thrombey-adjacent character—in Knives Out who doesn’t wear a sweater, but she’s so impeccably dressed (especially during the section of the movie where she expects to learn about her inheritance) that I need to shout out her wardrobe anyway. Here’s a description of Linda courtesy of Johnson’s screenplay:

No notes.

7) Joni’s white duster cardigan that buttons up at the neck (with pockets!)

I didn’t clock this as a cardigan until the most recent watch to get all of these screengrabs, and now I’m kind of obsessed.

6) Ransom’s frayed, gray/light blue pullover

The Aran gets all of the attention, but honestly, this one (sans vomit) looks good, too.

5) Marta’s striped scarf

I love Marta’s scarf, least of which because it brings some bright colors to her otherwise neutrally colored look.

4) Walt’s brown honeycomb cable-knit sweater

Walt’s cable-knit sweater pales in comparison to The Sweater because 1) It’s a fairly unflattering color, and 2) Is not worn by Chris Evans. But those are still some really good cables.

3) Marta’s light gray ribbed pullover

Knives Out may have more dazzling sweaters in the mix, and several are more brightly colored, but there’s something about the assurance of a sturdy ribbed pullover.

2) Marta’s speckled purple pullover (with red stripes on the wrists and paired with red pants)

I’m fascinated by many of the wardrobe choices in this movie, but none more so than how different colors and patterns are pushed together. One prime example? Joni’s boho chic.

But also look at Marta’s outfit during Harlan’s 85th birthday party. She’s wearing a speckled purple pullover with three red lines around the sleeves. Underneath her sweater is a buttoned shirt with white flowers and a black/navy background. She’s also wearing red pants and white canvas shoes. None of the clashing colors and patterns should work but in here? It does.

1) Harlan’s oversized green cable-knit cardigan

You get all of the majesticness of the Chris Evans sweater but without all of the dirtbag attitude toward taking care of nice things. (Or at least Fran is good about taking care of it.) And there’s some goddamn color!

Bonus: Rian Johnson has a Knives Out sweater, too

I need you all to know that this behind-the-scenes photo exists.

Knitwear of the Week

Knit: A confoundingly beautiful green ribbed wrap with a hood and ends that reach the ground that doesn’t seem like it’d be in any way practical, yet works as both a crop top and a cape.

Worn By: Dove (Ellie Bamber), aka [spoiler alert] a grown-up Elora Danan, in the Disney+ series Willow.

Costume Designer: Sarah Young

Unlike many people my age, I never grew up with Willow, the 1988 film by Ron Howard, as a fantasy movie touchstone; couldn’t tell you why. (Still haven’t seen a lot of those, tbh.) When I finally got around to watching it last year—partially because of prep for the show—I mostly thought it was fine while it’s got a great Val Kilmer performance. But I really wasn’t prepared for how dark it was for a fantasy movie largely aimed at kids. (The eighties, amirite?)

The TV show (also named Willow) finally debuted on Disney+ last month, and I’m enjoying myself so far. (Naturally, I have now fallen behind on it.) But amid all of the table setting, visions, magic, swordplay, and nostalgic nods is this absolutely wonderful emerald green wrap worn by Dove, a kitchen maid who fancies a kidnapped prince and soon finds out who she really is, even if she can’t quite believe it herself. It’s a hoodie, it’s a crop top, it’s a cape, it’s ribbed, and it’s so long that Dove can wrap it around herself and have both ends touching the ground to drag whatever sort of water, dirt, mud, guts, or blood she encounters on her hero’s journey with her. Yet somehow, it always stays clean!

I need it immediately.

Want to nominate your own Knitwear of the Week?

I’m now offering you a chance to nominate your favorite piece of cinematic knitwear. I’ve got more information about what I’m looking for here. So, if you’ve got one, send an email over to [email protected] with your pick!

1  The first of those sequels, Glass Onion, is now on Netflix, and it’s great. Could honestly watch a dozen more Benoit Blanc mysteries for as long as Johnson and Craig keep wanting to do them; bar none, it’s also the one movie that most excited many of my friends, who are the furthest you can get from being too online. But this isn’t a post about Glass Onion, so I digress.

2  Three years later, I admit that this is a case of “I probably put way more thought into what the cables mean than Rian Johnson.” Unless he validates any of this somewhere down the line, in which case this absurd train of thought is wholly justified.

3  The extent to which you’ll soon witness.

4  If, after all of this, you still yell at me about why the Chris Evans sweater isn’t on this list, I will ignore you.