I've been doin' a little pokin'.Knives Out · 2019 — Chapter 4 of 14 · 5'11" · B2
Marta Fails the Lie Test, Explained: a little bird told me
Blanc turns an interview into a trap: he knows Marta physically reacts when she lies, so he asks a question with only one honest answer. She says no — and immediately proves the opposite. "A yes or no will do," he says, then drops a much bigger question.
What happens
Detective Blanc questions Marta about how she was hired and paid, then reveals a strange fact about her: she cannot tell a lie without getting sick. He asks whether Richard is having an affair. Marta says no, then throws up, which settles the question. Blanc then works through each family member's motive.
Listen for
a little bird told meclean housebump someone offweak sauce
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Phrase of the scene
a little bird told me
I heard it from a source I won't name
布兰克说自己得知玛尔塔撒谎会犯恶心，用的是 a little bird has told me，故意不点破线人。
A little bird told me you're leaving the company.
Also in this scene
- clean house
to remove unwanted people or practices
- bump someone off
to kill someone
- weak sauce
something unimpressive or unconvincing
Everything marked in this scene
44 notes across 115 lines
You were hired on a part-time basis as a registered nurse, yes?Harlan hired me directly.liaison
Take a seat, please.And you're paid a flat rate for how many hours a week?He needed more help.He needed a friend.Does having a kind heart make you a good nurse?I suspect that Harlan has told you much unfiltered truth about each of 'em.present perfect
I suspect that Harlan has told you much unfiltered truth about each of 'em.I heard it from a source I won't name
And a little bird has told me,how shall I put this delicately...It's something I've had since I was a kid.relative clause with that
It's a physical thing that I... (SHUDDERS)Just the thought of lying...Yeah, it makes me puke.liaison
Yeah, it makes me puke.Why do men instinctively pull at loose threads on their parachutes?A yes or no will do.liaison
A yes or no will do.- I assumed you were speaking figuratively. - WAGNER: Here, have some water.- That's quite somethin'. - Hmm?"You tell her or I will."something unimpressive or unconvincing
Blanc dismisses the affair as too flimsy a motive for murder.
that's weak sauce. You know that.that's weak sauce. You know that.No, Harlan was supporting her and her daughter and that's the opposite of a motive.And if that support was threatened...passive in a conditional
And if that support was threatened...All right, don't answer that if you're gonna puke again, please.She was pocketing the double payment.Harlan found out, and cut her off without a cent.to kill someone
So she bumps him off for the inheritance?Come on, no, have you seen her Insta?Come on, no, have you seen her Insta?You're just dumpin' that vat of weak sauce on me.Granted. But she lied to me.Ah. I see where you're going with this.to remove unwanted people or practices
Harlan was cleanin' house.You have been very patient, my friend.None of these weak alibis and domestic squibbles answer your question...I'm here because this mornin', someone dodged a very important question.So somebody suspects foul play and goes through this ha cha dance of hiring me, of staying anonymous.It makes no damn sense.Compels me, though.Marta Fails the Lie Test, explained
What's really going on
On its surface this is an interrogation, but it plays as comedy with a cruel edge. Blanc does not need to catch Marta in a lie, because her body does it for him — "Yeah, it makes me puke" is both a joke and the movie's whole truth-telling engine. The affair question is the demonstration: she answers no honestly, and the answer exposes everything. From there the scene widens into motive. One family member protects a marriage; another quietly pocketed money; a third was refused what he wanted, and a line sums up the pattern: "Harlan was cleanin' house." Stronger still is the ending, where Blanc turns the question back on himself, admitting he was hired by an anonymous envelope of cash and that the whole arrangement "makes no damn sense" — and yet, as he says, it compels him.
Theme
LiesMarta cannot lie without vomiting, so her body exposes the truth the family keeps hidden.
SecretsThe interview pulls out affairs, stolen money and a housecleaning no one wants to admit.
Listen for
- Take a — liaison
- makes me — liaison
- yes or — liaison
Does having a kind heart make you a good nurse?Blanc probes whether Marta's warmth, not just her training, explains why Harlan trusted her so completely.
I'm here because this mornin', someone dodged a very important question.His reason for taking the case: an unanswered question about who hired him is exactly what drew him in.
Harlan found out, and cut her off without a cent.The consequence of Joni's double payment: Harlan stopped her support entirely.
Why do men instinctively pull at loose threads on their parachutes?Blanc's odd metaphor for self-sabotage, hinting that people wreck themselves before anyone else does.
Questions about this scene
Why does Marta throw up when she answers the affair question?
She has a condition that makes her physically ill whenever she lies. She says Richard is not having an affair, then immediately throws up, so her reaction tells Blanc the opposite is true.
Why does Blanc ask about family motives?
He is testing which relative had a reason to want Harlan dead, running through Richard's affair, Joni's allowance and Walter's film rights before concluding that Harlan was cutting people off one by one.
What did Joni do with Harlan's money?
Harlan paid her daughter's school fees, and Joni claimed the money came to her. Both were true: she was pocketing the duplicate payment, and when Harlan found out he cut her off entirely.
Why is Blanc at the house?
He says someone sent him an envelope of cash with a clipping about Harlan's death, hiring him anonymously. Linda asked who hired him and he could not answer, which is exactly what made him take the case.
Knives Out · 14 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 5with a forked tongueReconstructing the Night of the Death
Chapter 1pass the torchPolice Question the Thrombeys
Chapter 2at the behest ofBlanc Introduces Himself to the Family
Chapter 3the black sheep of the familyThe Family Recounts Party Night
Watching · Chapter 4a little bird told meMarta Fails the Lie Test
Chapter 5with a forked tongueReconstructing the Night of the Death
Chapter 6close the book with a flourishHarlan's Last Game of Go
Chapter 7stone-cold deadHarlan Coaches Marta's Alibi
Chapter 8conflateThe Family Fights at the Memorial
Chapter 9burn bridgesRansom Arrives Before the Will Reading
Chapter 10hold your horsesThe Family Learns About the Will
Chapter 11lay lowA Deal at the Diner
Chapter 12twist the knifeBlanc Reveals Who Hired Him
Chapter 13a shred of evidenceBlanc Explains the Vial Switch
Chapter 14in for a penny, in for a poundBlanc Reveals the Whole PlanChapter 4 of 14 · about 49 min to go