Note: This post contains no major spoilers forKnives Out,first ever videoed scat sexbut does reveal several on-screen outfits. (Chris Evans wears a sweater.)
When was the last time you gasped so conspicuously in a movie theater that when the movie ended, the stranger seated next to you tweeted about said gasp and your involuntary reaction went viral?
Mine was on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at a press screening of Rian Johnson's delightfully suspenseful murder mystery, Knives Out.
You May Also Like
The film's plot was marvelously constructed, but in a twist perhaps greater than any of those on screen, my gasp was unrelated to all things murder and mystery. The sudden inhalation of air instead came from the sheer, unexpected sight of Chris Evans in a cable-knit sweater.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
While watching Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) investigate the death of the Thrombey family's wealthy patriarch, Harlan (Christopher Plummer), I'll admit I lost all concept of time. I can't tell you how far into the movie I was when I saw Evans' character, Ransom, wearing that cable-knit sweater. But I know that in the moment I audibly gasped, whisper-screamed the word "sweater," and reflexively grabbed the right arm of Mashable Entertainment Reporter Proma Khosla for support.
My other seat mate — who I later learned was Anna Menta, a senior film reporter for Decider — heard my thirst firsthand, and was understandably compelled to share it with the world.
"I knew it was a good sweater. But I never would have realized just how good a sweater that sweater was had I not heard a voice next to me whisper, so softly and tenderly, 'Sweater,'" Menta told me in a Twitter DM. (Oh yeah, we're friends now.) "It summed up so succinctly what I knew every person in that audience was thinking."
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
To set the scene a bit, Knives Outis one of Evans' first major movie roles since he decided to hang up his shield of justice as Captain America, and boy, is it a change of character. In the comedic thriller, Evans plays Ransom Drysdale, an entitled trust fund brat with one of the dumbest, hottest names to ever exist.
The character is preposterously pompous — the kind of guy who tells his entire family to "eat shit" — but at times Evans' killer blue eyes and razor sharp jawline manage to cut through Ransom's insufferable attitude and make a strong, albeit shameful, case for attraction. That attraction peaked when a coat-less, scarf-less Evans in a cream cable-knit sweater dominated the screen.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable It sounds dramatic, but let me assure you... this was no ordinary sweater. The knitted stitches were especially thick and prominent, and the coloring complemented Evans' blue eyes and dark brown hair remarkably. The naturally lit, wood-forward restaurant booth and surrounding beer bottles helped set the mood, but the real noteworthy piece of detail was that the sweater was worn. It had visible holes and tears, as though it had been on Evans' frame one too many times and simply couldn't hold itself together any longer. Both the sweater I were unraveling at our seams.
A day after the sight of Evans in that magnetic force of knitwear hindered my breathing, I saw my reaction had made quite the stir online. The "Sweater" thirst was spreading fast, and as more and more people saw the film, the sight of Chris in a cable-knit caused "Sweater" gasps to ripple across theaters.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Knives Outdirector Rian Johnson even joined the Sweater Movement and posted two thirst tweets of his own. The first very rudely compared a cable-knit-clad Evans to a cable-knit-clad pup, as though we could ever choose. The second was a breathtaking black-and-white candid of cable-knit Chris, captioned, "Hey girl." Swoon.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
As for Evans, he has yet to acknowledge the Sweater Sweats™ online, but he addressed the thirst in an Extra TV interview. When asked about the overwhelming reaction to his sweater, the actor said, "Oh yeah, well, you know. It's hard to look bad in a cable-knit sweater."
I don't in any way mean for this sweater thirst to overshadow Evans' performance or the quality of the film itself, both of which were excellent, but I'll say it's not every day a piece of clothing elicits literal gasps, so we must give this sweater the rightful praise.
"As we now know, it was a thirst so deeply relatable it has resonated with thousands of people all over the world," Menta said. "I like to think we made a real difference that day: You with your pure, relatable thirsting, and me, the mouthpiece broadcasting that thirst to the masses."
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Evans gave a modest response when asked about the love for his sweater, but he knowshe looks good in it, too. He snapped a mirror selfie while wearing the cable-knit and hanging out with his dog Dodger on set, and in a post-screening Q&A he admitted that he loved his clothes in the movie so much that he "stole those sweaters."
Most of the cast wore phenomenal sweaters as well, but Evans really lucked out. In addition to that cable-knit beauty, he also sported a dark cardigan in the beginning of the film, and ended with a beautiful blue cashmere. (In lieu of a dark cardigan pic, we're giving you this photo of Evans looking good in a camel-colored coat and patterned scarf.)
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable 
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable By the time the movie concludes, you may know who's responsible for Harlan Thrombey's death, but the real "whodunnit" remains afoot: Who is responsible for this film's wardrobe? Give them an award! Specifically for that cable-knit, which a fair share of admirers have already tried to find online.
Though lookalikes have been discovered at L.L.Bean, Gap Factory, ASOS, The Kooples, and Aran Sweater Market, a sweater as distressed as the Knives Outcable-knit made me the first time I saw it has yet to be found. Per Knives Outcostume designer Jenny Eagan, the sweater rips were created using tools like a Dremel or sandpaper. And the sweater is, in fact, an Aran cable-knit.
Knives Out hits theaters Nov. 27, perfectly timed to Thanksgiving's carving knives. As you gather around your dinner table to give thanks for loved ones, opportunities, good health, and so on, consider also giving thanks for Chris Evans' sweater. I know I will, as it's brought me not only a small, silly splash of viral fame, but also genuine cinematic delight; a new Twitter friend, Anna; and a community of future Knives Out-goers who've vowed to gasp in my honor. This sweater truly brings people together.
UPDATE: Nov. 27, 2019, 1:29 p.m. EST Updated to include more (yes, more) information on the sweater.