"Glass Onion" review — Benoit Blanc is back in sharp murder mystery satire

“I'll pay you one billion dollars to tell me which one of them tried to kill me.”

This film was featured on my Best Films of 2022 list.

Knives Out was a ruckus delight when it first appeared in theatres back in 2019. A critical and commercial success, Knives Out was easily the most fun film of that year with writer/director Rian Johnson flaunting his skills as a filmmaker. It’s a delightful reinvigoration of the “whodunit” genre that has gone unfortunately under the radar in more recent years with an incredible cast and a complex, twisted plot. The film is crafty, original, decidedly political, and an all-around amazing time out at the movies. It was also one of the first films I ever reviewed for my blog, my fourth film review ever. With the arrival of the much-anticipated sequel Glass Onion this Christmas season, private eye Benoit Blanc makes his triumphant return to the screen — bringing with him another delightful, witty, and clever mystery with him.

Set during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown just months after the events of Knives Out, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) feels his mind starting to go to mush. He’s playing games with his friends online, but he craves the thrill of a real mystery. One day, Blanc receives a mysterious puzzle box in the mail that invites him to the private Grecian island of billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton). Of course, Blanc was not the only person invited to Bron’s island. Bron has invited a motley crew of his closest friends including his business partner, an alt-right streamer, a U.S. governor, and a washed-up supermodel for a weekend-long murder mystery game. Here’s the problem: Bron didn’t send the puzzle box and invitation to Blanc. But from his encounter with the Thrombey family, Blanc knows not to trifle with an anonymous invitation. Before you know it, the friendly getaway turns deadly.

A still from Glass Onion. Left to right: Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr., Kathryn Hahn, Edward Norton, Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, and Dave Bautista. Image via Netflix.

Director Rian Johnson is a filmmaker in total control of his abilities and skills as a storyteller. The film is a labyrinthian construct of misdirects and red herrings eventually pulling itself into a totally unexpected climax. The film takes about an hour to really get going, but its ground-laying, slower first half still crackles with an electric cast and really clever dialogue. Johnson is much more obvious in his clever structuring here than in Knives Out, but it is nonetheless impressive. The structure is very reminiscent of Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden (2016). I won’t elaborate for fear of giving away too much, but if you know, you know. In fact, many of Glass Onion’s highlights are the parts of the film I cannot and will not disclose in this review, but trust me, the film is bound to surprise and delight.

Cinematographer Steve Yedlin is one of Johnson’s great strengths here, too. There’s a scene set during a blackout about an hour into the film that might just be one the best shot sequences in a film this year. He uses shadows and lighting to convey drama and character in the simplest shots. His cinematography is inventive and dramatic, playing into the inherent melodrama of the genre while also humanizing the characters. The production design of the titular Glass Onion estate is gorgeous as well with so many great details and easter eggs hidden in the background. Costume designer Jenny Eagan outdoes herself again with some glorious summery outfits and bold, striking choices for the characters’ wardrobes.

The ensemble cast of Glass Onion. Image via Netflix.

Glass Onion’s greatest distinguishment is its incredible ensemble cast — easily the best ensemble performance of the year. Edward Norton kills as the eccentric tech billionaire Miles Bron. Kathryn Hahn, in her biggest role yet after her stellar turn in WandaVision last year, plays an always-on-edge state governor. Leslie Odom Jr. plays Bron’s head scientist, a man with good ideas but always overshadowed by Bron’s ego. Kate Hudson is fantastic as the larger-than-life, narrow-minded Birdie Jay, a former super-model now enjoying indulging in life and breaking COVID restrictions. Dave Bautista plays Duke Cody, a gun-toting, alpha-male men’s rights internet streamer, in the most ridiculously macho way possible. Jessica Henwick and Madelyn Cline play Jay’s assistant and Cody’s girlfriend, two parts that could easily be rather one-note, but end up receiving the most humanizing portrayals of any of the film’s characters. Janelle Monáe steals the show as Andi Brand, Bron’s ex-wife, who proves to be the heart and soul of the entire film. While this sort of ridiculous mixture of characters doesn’t sound like it should work in concept — Blanc calls out the self-proclaimed “disruptors” for this at one point — the execution is nearly flawless. Johnson ties the characters together in a fascinating, complex web of interconnections.

The only returning cast member from Knives Out is Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc. Glass Onion’s Blanc is sillier and more exaggerated than the one we met in Knives Out. We do have the sense, though, that the more eccentric version here is Blanc’s vacation mode: he’s more relaxed, he uses more pastels in his outfits, and he’s willing to let lose a little bit. Now, Johnson is careful not to overplay the Blanc card. While he might have been the top-billed actor in Knives Out, in the context of the narrative, Craig’s character plays second fiddle to Ana de Armas’ Marta Cabrera. This is much the same here with Janelle Monáe’s performance taking centre stage by the film’s end. Johnson knows that while Blanc might be the feature attraction, as he is an outsider, the character doesn’t always have the same emotional involvement in the story and so gives them plenty of room to shine. Glass Onion is still, more than anything, an ensemble picture.

Janelle Monáe in Glass Onion. Image via Netflix.

Now, Glass Onion is not a subtle film. Obviously, many of these characters are targeting real-world figures and archetypes and playing them to ridiculous ends. Glass Onion is not afraid to get political. It is a very 2022 film, just like how its predecessor was very much of its time with its Trump-era political discourse surrounding class, race, and immigration. Those political leanings are far more exaggerated. If Knives Out was Johnson going after old-money families, Glass Onion is him paying the same courtesy to new-money silicon valley types.

Recently, Johnson expressed his disappointment in having to include the “A Knives Out Mystery” subtitle in the marketing for Glass Onion. He expressed his desire for each Blanc to stand on their own, like “it’s a new novel off the shelf every time.” While it’s nearly impossible to talk about Glass Onion without mentioning Knives Out, it’s not entirely fair to this new instalment to only refer to it within the context of its more famous, older counterpart. Glass Onion is similar to Knives Out in many ways, but it also stands on its own two feet by doing things just a little differently. While it obviously bears some genre-based similarities, Glass Onion constructs an entirely new playing field for itself. It’s a more aggressive, ridiculous film, lettings its satire be more apparent. The stakes are higher, the politics are more complex, and the script and performances are even funnier. It feels just as fresh as Knives Out by being willing to throw off the shackles of the previous film. It is very much reminiscent of the detective novels of old, but with a clever twist.

Glass Onion takes its name from a Beatles’ track of the White Album. In the song, John Lennon sings the refrain “To see how the other half lives / Looking through a glass onion.” In this film, Johnson gives his audience a glimpse into how this cartoonish upper crust lives, viewed through a literal glass box, and it’s a pretty grotesque image. When the glass house finally does begin to shatter, the results are truly spectacular. But the ways in which Johnson stokes the fire are dizzyingly clever. While Glass Onion’s targets might be rather easy, Johnson finds ways to skewer them with plenty of bravado and wit. Daniel Craig is infectiously funny as Benoit Blanc, a classic detective character for the contemporary age. From the cleverly placed POV switches to the grand finale, Glass Onion delivers a truly masterful mystery. 

Personally, I cannot wait to see what Johnson cooks up for the third Benoit Blanc adventure.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is now streaming on Netflix.

Glass Onion information
Written and directed by Rian Johnson
Starring Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, with Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista
Released December 23, 2022 (Netflix)
139 minutes