by Mason Leaver
This article contains heavy spoilers for most of Rian Johnson’s career
Director Rian Johnson (right) working with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (left) on the set of "Looper"
Rian Johnson is a director that is both loved and hated for his practice of intentionally subverting audience expectations. This storytelling method can be found across various forms of storytelling media, in books, video games, television, and film, and seems to be becoming more popular recently. “Subverting expectations” is a method of surprising the audience with some element of a story, be it the plot, themes, characters, etc. This goes beyond a “twist” in a film. Expectation subversion actively works within the genre of a story, and attempts to reinterpret or subvert the conventions of that genre, breaking patterns in surprising and interesting ways. However, this method of surprising the audience is not always well received- it can sometimes be the source of heavy criticism from fans of the tropes which have been subverted. Johnson is both famous and infamous for this practice- the man has made a career out of it. His most recent work, Knives Out, is a perfect example of Johnson’s style. With Netflix announcing a $450,000 deal to acquire the rights for a Knives Out 2 and 3, directed by Rian Johnson, it seems like a great time to explore Rian Johnson’s authorship, and how he subverts the audience’s expectations to keep them hooked.
Brick (2005) is Johnson’s debut film. It is the story of a high school student, Brendan, who discovers that his ex-girlfriend has been murdered. Brendan begins to investigate the case, and soon stumbles into a dangerous local crime circuit, led by a young kingpin named “the Pin”. However, Brick is not just a high school mystery. It is styled like a noir film, full of lingo and slang, fast talking, heavy shadows, speakeasies, etc. It doesn’t take long while watching Brick to be surprised by the stark contrast between the style and plot of the film and the film’s setting. This is the first way in which Johnson uses expectation subversion, through the use of genre and setting, to keep his audience engaged.
Johnson’s next film is The Brothers Bloom, a heist film about two brothers that are con men. This is most likely Johnson’s least subversive film, but it still employs the technique in an intriguing way. The style and setting of The Brothers Bloom is not subversive in the same way as Brick was. The characters, Stephen Bloom and Bloom Bloom, and their assistant, Bang Bang, fit the standard genre tropes of the heist movie- they are two con men and their dangerous demolitions expert assistant. What is subversive about The Brothers Bloom is the film's structure. The film begins with an extended narration, depicting some crucial events from the Bloom brothers’ lives, establishing their characters and personalities. However, this childhood sequence is fairly stylized, the children speak unusually for their age, and it all feels “fairy-tale” like. As the film progresses, the narrator drops out, and the majority of the film lacks any narration, preferring the standard approach. The film’s second subversion of expectations is almost paradoxical- it is the doubling down of genre tropes to such a degree that it is actually surprising. One of the classic tropes of the heist genre is the reversal, or the twist toward the end of act II or in Act III. Johnson uses this in The Brothers Bloom, but he actually doubles down on it. The film could conclude at the end of Act II- the Brothers have separated, and Bloom has given up Penelope, his love interest. However, at the very start of Act III, Johnson actually has the characters begin a whole new heist- it’s almost like a sequel built right into the third act. At the very end of Act III, there’s a rapid series of reversals- you think characters are dead, and then they’re not, but then they really are again, and then you’re not quite sure. It’s extremely rapid, and can be a bit jarring. But Johnson is tapping into the very essence of what makes heist films great and is turning it up to 11, to such a degree that it feels ridiculous, and as such, subverts our expectations.
Walter White hunts a fly in "Breaking Bad"
It is important to briefly mention Johnson’s work on the television series Breaking Bad (AMC, 2008-2013). Johnson directed three episodes for the series, and they are widely regarded as some of the best episodes of the show, if not some of the best episodes in television history. I would like to focus on his first episode, titled “Fly”. Fly is the tenth episode of season 3, a season which consistently raised the stakes for Walter and Jesse. However, all of that momentum comes to a grinding halt for episode 10, where the only concern of Walter and Jesse is to kill a fly in their meth lab before it contaminates the meth. The episode is such a change of course from the reset of the season, it can be funny and refreshing. While Johnson did not write the episode, it is interesting to note that he directed one of the most subversive episodes of Breaking Bad.
Johnson’s next film, Looper (2012) is about a hitman named Joe, who is a “looper”- a man who kills people that have been sent back in time for him to execute. Joe works for the mob of the future, where time travel has become possible, and when the mob wants someone dead, they send them to Joe so that the victim cannot be traced. It’s an interesting enough time-travel concept, but Johnson once again subverts the audience’s expectations, when he sends Joe from the future, referred to in the script as Old Joe, back in time to be killed by Young Joe- the two begin to fight, as Old Joe wants to kill someone that Young Joe is determined to save. In creating this set up, Johnson has actually created a film in which the hero and the villain are the same person. Because of this, Johnson is able to subvert all kinds of expectations of time-travel movies, including, mainly, the actual time travelling. Young Joe doesn’t travel in time at all throughout the film. Instead, he uses his memories, which Old Joe has, to communicate with his future self. It’s mind-bending at times, but it winds up creating a unique time-travel film.
Now we come to The Last Jedi (2017), which is Johnson’s most divisive film. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s clear that The Last Jedi subverts expectations in a major way. Johnson takes many of the “genre tropes” of the Star Wars series and subverts them. Luke, the hero of the original trilogy, who was set up in The Force Awakens to be a mentor figure to Rey, is actually a depressed hermit, intentionally exiling himself from society. Secondly, there is the reveal regarding Rey’s lineage. The Star Wars series is full of characters who are from important families, the Skywalker lineage most among them, but Johnson chose to reveal that Rey was not actually from any important family; instead, she came from two drunken scrappers on a backwater planet. Finally, Johnson’s choice to kill off Snoke, who had previously been set up to be the main villain of the sequel trilogy, is a major subversion of the standard Star Wars formula. However, these subversions were not popular with everyone that watched the film. Many thought these twists were unwarranted- they simply changed the Star Wars formula for the sake of shock value. Johnson’s other work is relatively uncontroversial because they are self contained- they rely on no other intellectual property. However, Johnson’s work in The Last Jedi is built upon many previous films, and as such, some fans felt these surprises were unearned. At the same time, many other viewers loved The Last Jedi- many have called it the best film of the sequel trilogy. Regardless of what you think about Johnson’s choices in The Last Jedi, it’s obvious that he was centrally focused on subverting audience expectations.
Johnson’s most recent film, Knives Out (2019), is a return to form for the director. It is back into an area he’s comfortable within- the mystery thriller. Once again, Johnson is committed to playing with aspects of the genre to create a new and surprising experience. Knives Out was advertised as a gentleman detective story, much like Murder on the Orient Express, centered around Mr. Blanc, played by Daniel Craig. The film begins by making us think that is what we will get- we are shown a dead body, and a detective is called quickly. But after a short while, the audience is made aware that Marta, the victim’s nurse, is responsible for his death, but that the victim did not want Marta to be blamed. All of a sudden, Marta becomes the protagonist of the film, and we are on the edge of our seats as she tries to hide the evidence of what happened, and as she eventually realizes the greater mystery behind it. This rapid change of perspective is what makes Knives Out such a great mystery film- it completely subverts the audience’s expectations about who they would be rooting for, and why. Johnson almost immediately solves what we expected would be the central mystery of the film, and simultaneously slowly alludes to the fact that there is more than meets the eye. It may be his finest work yet, and it’s certainly the greatest example of his practice of expectation subversion.
Rian Johnson’s career has consistently shown a commitment to subverting the audience’s expectations. At times he does this through the setting or genre conventions, such as Brick, Looper, The Last Jedi, and Fly. At other times, he does this through the plot itself, such as The Brothers Bloom and Knives Out. While this has given Johnson success in varying degrees up to today, it’s unclear whether he will able to maintain this trend into the future. After all, how can you subvert an audience’s expectation of subversion? Perhaps Johnson’s next film, Knives Out 2, will actually be a relatively straight-forward detective story? I can’t say for sure. However, Johnson has proven himself to be a skilled director and writer, and as such, I’m very excited to see his future work.
For more on Knives Out, read our review here: http://www.cinemablography.org/blog/knives-out-a-revew
Rian Johnson’s career has consistently shown a commitment to subverting the audience’s expectations. At times he does this through the setting or genre conventions, such as Brick, Looper, The Last Jedi, and Fly. At other times, he does this through the plot itself, such as The Brothers Bloom and Knives Out. While this has given Johnson success in varying degrees up to today, it’s unclear whether he will able to maintain this trend into the future. After all, how can you subvert an audience’s expectation of subversion? Perhaps Johnson’s next film, Knives Out 2, will actually be a relatively straight-forward detective story? I can’t say for sure. However, Johnson has proven himself to be a skilled director and writer, and as such, I’m very excited to see his future work.
For more on Knives Out, read our review here: http://www.cinemablography.org/blog/knives-out-a-revew
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