Did you know murder mysteries among women are a very popular genre of fiction? According to research conducted in 2010 in collaboration with ‘Sisters in Crime’ and ‘Pubtrack,’ regarding the purchase of books in the mystery genre, the research found out that 68% of the books were bought by women. Over 66% of these books were bought by women ranging between the ages of 45 and above.
A considerable percentage of women show a weird proclivity towards the mystery genre. I myself was raised by a woman who was paranoid 24/7 because she watched too many true crime and mystery TV shows. Therefore, it didn’t come as a shock to me that as I approached womanhood myself my proclivity towards the genre increased tenfold.
I still remember the day, when the urge to watch more mysteries took over me. It started off with 1978’s Death on the Nile starring Peter Ustinov as Poirot. This led to the viewing of several other of Peter Ustinov’s Poirot movies namely, Evil under the Sun and Appointment with Death, and then expanded to other classic films such as 1974’s Murder on the Orient Express directed by Sidney Lumet starring Albert Finney as Poirot, Neil Simon’s 1976 spoof Murder by Death, 1985’s Clue: the Movie and finally 2019’s Knives Out. For me, they were the perfect movies to enjoy on a cold afternoon, cocooned inside a warm blanket feeling extremely cosy.
While I thought I was being cute and quirky with my cosiness, I had absolutely no idea that all of these movies actually belonged to a sub-genre of mystery called lo and behold, cosy mystery. A cosy mystery can be best described as a story that is set in a non-threatening environment, a yacht, a house, a resort even. They normally include a whole ensemble of likeable and eccentric characters.
Unlike, in the crime or thriller genre, where the stakes are higher and so is the body count, a cosy mystery is a crime committed by a person who may or may not have been pushed to their limits. The motive can range from blackmail to insurance fraud or even saving face.
A very good cosy murder mystery is a character study of the victim and the culprit. The story is rarely just about finding who the murderer is, it’s about establishing a relationship between the victim and the culprit.
I think one of the reasons why, this genre is as favourable as it is, is because it allows people to be inquisitive, whether you are reading a novel, watching a movie or listening to a podcast, there is something very stimulating and rewarding when you are able to pick up on the clues and follow the storyline.
The second reason, I believe is that the stories are generally set in beautiful places, they are very aesthetically pleasing, and with the large ensemble in the mix, you feel like you are one of these people, waiting for the detective or the smartest person in the group to make sense of what is happening.
And lastly, as one writer writes in their article, ‘Why do we enjoy mysteries so much? ‘, “Mysteries help us cope with the psychological and emotional concept of death and our own mortality.” Adding, “You can actually evade taxes, but you can never evade death. It will come, one way or another. In real life, we’re never prepared for death. It is never rational and never easily accepted. Ah, but in a mystery, death makes perfect sense–or at least it does by the time the sleuth has solved the crime and brought the killer to justice. He or she uses brain power (grey cells, if you’re Hercule Poirot) to deduce the truth behind the facade the killer has created.”
“Which brings us full circle to the idea of justice. In a mystery, death is explained through reasoning. A truth is discovered. For just a while, death, the one thing we cannot escape and can never understand, makes sense and we can accept it.” This is a very insightful point, one that could never originally come from my brain because of my lack of perspective on most things.
In 2019, Rian Johnson’s Knives Out brought about a resurgence of the genre. The movie checks in all of the boxes for what makes a perfect cosy-murder mystery and does so while not only re-inventing the genre but also paying homage to all of the classic movies.
In a conversation with director Denis Villeneuve for the Director’s Guild of America’s podcast, The Director’s Cut, Rian Johnson dished out some of his inspirations for the movie, he mentions the aforementioned movies along with Albert Finney’s Murder on the Orient Express, Evil Under the Sun, Death on the Nile, The Mirror Crack’d, Deathtrap and Gosford Park. (The Director’s Cut is a podcast, where two contemporary directors discuss their upcoming movies in front of a live audience, it’s very interesting and informative as they discuss their movies at length, along with their motives and inspirations behind certain scenes.)
Incidentally, I was able to come up with a really good pun-title for this month’s theme. Therefore, at FilmiFlare, it is officially the month of Murder, Mystery and Mayhem. Each week, we are going to pick one classic mystery movie.
