Photo courtesy of Netflix
It’s no mystery that Rian Johnson’s 2019 endeavor “Knives Out” was a massive hit with audiences and critics alike. So, the next mystery was to see if he was able to recreate the magic for the sequel “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” Spoiler alert: he does. “Glass Onion” is a tightly written, wonderfully performed comedic rollercoaster.
The only returning cast member from the original movie is Daniel Craig, reprising his role as the world’s premiere detective Benoit Blanc. In the sequel, he manages to pull off being both the smartest in the room while also bringing some of the hardest laughs as one of the main comic reliefs. The other original cast members aren’t missed, however, with the new potential victims hitting it out of the park.
The standouts are Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson and Ed Norton. Monáe’s performance is the most layered throughout the entire film. Johnson frequently repeats a lot of the movie though flashbacks, and Monáe’s performance gives off different information each time it’s shown, even though the footage hasn’t changed at all. Ed Norton plays the role of the billionaire without self-awareness. He is able to keep the veil of intelligence while saying some truly idiotic things. Kate Hudson is without a doubt the scene stealer, however; every line she says is hilarious. That’s another positive for “Glass Onion” over its predecessor – it’s arguably the funniest film of the year.
“Knives Out” was also humorous, but its comedy was more situational, while “Glass Onion” has more actual jokes that are set up earlier in the film, allowing them to pay off in the later half.
Just because the movie is funny one second doesn’t mean that the next second won’t be nail-bitingly tense. A great example is the scene where the murder takes place. The scene draws a lot of parallels to the drug deal scene from Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Boogie Nights.” The music evokes feeling that it’s ever increasing, the shots get closer, a loud banging sound gets faster and the edit makes the shots shorter and shorter. The tension build up is great; it keeps you on your toes with fake out after fake out until the payoff is finally given.
The motif of the titular glass onion itself is one of the best parts of the movie. The mystery at the center of the plot gives off the feeling that it’s this complex narrative of secrets and lies, however, the answer is plain as day. The glass onion itself seems layered like a regular onion, but it is made of glass so you can see right into its center. It has the veil of layers without having any. That motif is the key to how the mystery in the movie presents itself. You’re guessing people with in-depth motivations are the killer while the answer is presented clearly to you early on. This makes the final twist so satisfying. Not only were the characters duped, but the viewer was, too. “Glass Onion” delivers on everything you want it to, making it just a blast to watch and try to decipher, while also bringing laughs.
