‘Poker Face’ — A New Kind Of Sherlock Holmes
by Frank Martin
With Knives Out, Glass Onion, and now Poker Face, Rian Johnson has positioned himself as a lover of the murder mystery. Even though Knives Out and its sequel are very different in terms of format from Poker Face, a lot can be learned by looking at their two protagonists: Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) and Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne). Both are very different characters. Blanc is an actual astute detective while Charlie merely stumbles into her mysteries by mere situational coincidence. When it comes to fictional detectives, it’s hard not to compare any new entry into this field with the most famous one of all. That is obviously Sherlock Holmes. And even though Benoit Blanc is an actual detective, it’s the main protagonist of Poker Face that’s more closely aligned with Sherlock.
Charlie isn’t necessarily a perceptive person. She doesn’t have the observational awareness of Sherlock — and she certainly doesn’t have the same breath of knowledge that he has! But what she possesses is an unwavering conviction to set things right. This is driven by her preternatural ability to tell when someone is lying. Although Sherlock is able to deduce when people aren’t telling the truth, he isn’t able to automatically know the way Charlie does. Because she instantly knows when people aren’t honest, she herself is an honest person. This means following the truth to its ultimate end, regardless of who is the bad guy behind the lies.
On the surface, Sherlock and Benoit might appear like similar characters. But Benoit does not have the same irrational compulsion that Sherlock does. Sherlock is driven by a need to solve puzzles, and he will follow this need wherever it takes him. Similarly, Charlie is also driven by an irrational compulsion. She doesn’t have to insert herself into the business of others or even risk her life to solve a murder. Nevertheless, she does simply because she is driven to do so and has no other choice. In this regard, both her and Sherlock are more alike than probably either of them would ever admit to.
Poker Face is now streaming on Peacock.