In ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous’, Good Charlotte propose that we steal from the rich. After watching, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, this seems like a good idea. This film encourages us to burn the rich… almost literally as well as figuratively.
Normally people will start a review by quoting something pretentious. Shakespeare and Dickens have been quoted too often to count. Yet, when talking about Glass Onion, you need to quote the antithesis of high culture – early 2000s pop punks songs. Although, it would have also been apt to misquote a famous literary figure (if you’ve seen the film, this makes sense). Like Knives Out, Glass Onion exposes the reality of the upper class by subverting the murder mystery plot line.
In Glass Onion, Rian Johnson takes a shot at those with self made money. His ensemble is made up of opportunists rather than nepotism babies. The action kicks off when Miles Bron (a finely veiled Elon Musk caricature played by Edward Norton) invites his old friends to his island for a murder mystery dinner party.
The island setting reminds me of another 2022 release, The Menu (a close second behind Everything Everywhere All at Once in my list of the best films I have ever seen in the cinema… thinking about it, I should probably review that film). Both films circle around a group of excessively rich idiots who are invited to an island by an eccentric and elusive figure. However, in this film, everyone are old friends and this adds a level of tension to the premise. Each attendee from supermodel Birdie (played by Kate Hudson in a performance that makes her shine in a way she never has before) to the local politician Claire (played by Kathryn Hahn, the ultimate villain in both Parks and Rec and WandaVision), knew each other at the beginnings of their careers when they attended the Glass Onion bar in New York. As each character has grown (in success or social media reach), they have more to lose and more reasons to hate Miles.
The murder mystery party collapses as Poirot’s 21st-Century successor with a dodgy southern American accent Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) turns up. Not only does he solve the fictional who-done-it, he also aims to solve a mystery so mysterious none of the attendees know about it.
To go into an once more detail would ruin the plot (and to be honest, I’m scared by brief description has already done so), so I will advice my readers (all two of you) to go into the film as blind and ignorant as the characters themselves. Let the film sweep you away to a foreign destination where nothing is as it seems. Like the fictional Blanc knows more than the characters, Johnson knows more than the audience. So, sit back and let his direction guide you on a twisted journey.
Words and Dragons 