Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Glass Onion from here on) establishes the Southern sleuth Benoit Blanc as the Hercule Poirot of the modern era. After cracking the case in the excellent Knives Out, a loving homage and expertly crafted addition to the mansion murder mystery genre, Blanc becomes embroiled in a puzzler set at a private party in paradise, hosted by the complicated genius and tech billionaire Miles Bron.
Blanc (Craig) begins the film bereft between cases, figuratively lost while literally losing a game of Among Us to Angela Lansbury and Natasha Lyonne, among others, while smoking a cigar in the tub. Meanwhile, Bron (Edward Norton) has sent delightfully complicated puzzle boxes to his five best friends whom he calls “the disruptors.” They are: Birdie Jay (Hudson), a fashionista who’s not afraid to “tell it like I see it”; Claire (Kathryn Hahn), a campaigning politician courting “the grassroots left”; Duke Cody (Dave Bautista), a men’s rights Twitch streamer who hawks “rhino-horn boner pills to teenagers”; Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr.), the chief scientist at Bron’s company Alpha; Andi (Monáe) the co-founder of Alpha who Bron defrauded out of the business; and Blanc himself, who somehow also received a box. Inside the boxes are individual invitations to Miles Bron’s private Greek Island, at the center of which lies a building that resembles a giant glass onion.
While the tone of Knives Out matches the stately décor of the manor in which it takes place, not devoid of humor by any means, but subtle and restrained, Glass Onion likewise takes on the more flamboyant tone of its setting and characters—everything is bigger, funnier, and more playful. The ridiculous cast of characters is drawn broadly enough as to have any number of real-life analogues, regardless of what B.S. on Twitter might claim, but there’s no denying we’ve all seen certain celebrities, politicians and personalities like this in our feed.
Rian Johnson has concocted yet another Rubik’s cube of a film (see also Brick, see also The Brothers Bloom) like he has been doing for most of his filmmaking career, and he seems to be having more and more fun doing it. As well, the cast members all appear to be having a blast. Craig seems more suited to the role of Benoit Blanc than to any other role (even counting him being arguably the best James Bond). Hudson as Birdie Jay cannot be discounted either; as an insensitive and ignorant former celebutante, Hudson’s spot-on delivery of lines like “It was supposed to be a tribute to Beyoncé” about her Halloween costume debacle, garner some of the film’s biggest laughs. Norton as the billionaire Bron dances on a knife’s edge between being genial and insufferable. And Janelle Monáe gives a wonderful performance that rewards repeat viewings.
Multiple viewings are now not only possible but recommended—after a painfully short stint in theaters, Netflix released Glass Onion to its streaming service on Dec. 23. Hopefully it has been successful enough that we can see as many Benoit Blanc mysteries in the future as there are Holmes, Poirot and Marple cases. Oh, wouldn’t that be swell.
