Movie Review: Glass Onion (2022): A Worthy Addition to the Award-Winning ‘Knives Out’ Trilogy

After a stellar audience reception for Knives Out (2019), one wonders if the sequel would live up to the high standards of the prequel. Alas, Rian Johnson impresses again with the latest instalment to the Knives Out series, titled ‘Glass Onion’(2022). Detective Benoit Blanc, flawlessly portrayed by Daniel Craig, makes a comeback in this standalone sequel. 

Summary

Miles Bron is the CEO of Alpha, a bold and futuristic think tank set to revolutionize the world. He has five friends - Alpha’s Head Scientist Lionel Toussaint, Governor Claire Debella, online streamer Duke Cody, ex-CEO of Alpha Andi Brand, and Birdie, a model-turned-PR-nightmare. 

Bron invites these friends to a murder-mystery game at the ‘Glass Onion’, a glass-based mansion on his private island. Detective Benoit Blanc also receives an invitation to the Glass Onion (despite Miles never inviting him), and Bron allows him to join the party.

Blanc quickly solves Bron’s ‘mystery’ game, much to his annoyance. He also tells Bron that someone in the friend group wants him dead. The dinner party takes a halt when instead of Bron, Cody is murdered. As the friends realize that a killer is amongst them, Blanc races to uncover the assailant’s identity before he or she strikes again. 

Characters

‘Glass Onion’, like the predecessor, features Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc, a role he adopts as seamlessly as his James Bond portrayals. Edward Norton plays Miles Bron to perfection, making viewers feel both captivated and irritated by his character. Janelle Monáe deserves special recognition for her performance as the poised and elusive Andi Brand. Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, and Dave Bautista do not falter, never letting audience members feel like they were anyone else except their character. The casting was done exceptionally well, and all actors rose to the challenge of playing their larger-than-life characters. 

Themes

Keeping the trend of the prequel, Glass Onion also features themes with relevance to today’s world:

1. The Icarus-like Businessman:

In the era where Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are celebrated, this movie takes a critical look at entrepreneurs whose ‘quirkiness’ and ‘daring’ are idolized. Rather than celebrating them, Johnson provides a different perspective through his character Miles Bron. Bron is depicted as innovative, intelligent, and charismatic. But he is also reminiscent of Icarus, the man with wax wings who flew too close to the sun. Like Icarus, Bron is excessively empowered by his successes and overreaches. His revolutionary hydrogen-based fuel ‘Klear’ is set to be revealed to the world - even when he (and Toussaint & Debella) know it to be unstable for use. Bron’s successes make him (and those around him) see himself as infallible even when he is dead wrong and has the potential to hurt people with his creations. 

2. The Best of Friends…or are they?

This movie begins by depicting the closeness between Miles Bron and his friends Toussaint, Debella, Cody, Brand, and Jay. They began as friends struggling to realize their dreams and have made it to the pinnacle of their careers. It seems admirable at first, like a tale of true friendship in a rags-to-riches story. 

Soon enough, the reality emerges. Debella relies on Bron to fund her election campaign, Jay needs Bron to help her manage her numerous controversies, Cody wants a show on Bron’s Alpha News show, and Toussaint, being Alpha’s head scientist, works for Bron. Bron is also acutely aware of how his friends seem to only come to him when they need something from him, due to which he cannot trust any of them. Clay Cockrell, a therapist who works with wealthy clients, confirms this - many real-life billionaires and millionaires live in constant mistrust of their closest friends, always unsure if the relationship is genuine or founded on greed. 

Final Thoughts

Even with stellar performances and relevant ideas, the movie’s clever plot remains the star. Director Johnson has left no stone unturned in crafting the perfect murder mystery that even experienced movie-goers will struggle to solve. Add this movie to your watchlist for a 
delightfully funny and original take on the mystery genre. 

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/22/therapist-super-rich-succession-billionaires