The first “Knives Out” had all knives firing. A great murder mystery that is tightly plotted, dropping clues, concealing secrets, misdirecting with red herrings, teasing resolution, springing surprises, revealing lies, tying up loose ends, and cleverly wrapping up with a satisfying conclusion.
Director Rian Johnson was wise to use a similar formula in the sequel, twisting the knife a bit differently mid-story and sprinkling more hysterical humor, but still end up hitting the bullseye. Filmed during the heights of the pandemic in 2020, the global lockdown makes it into the “Glass Onion: Knives Out Mystery” and the remote island is an idyllically perfect setting.
Southern detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, “James Bond” series), is back with a murder mystery landing on his linen suit. A distinct character among the rich and famous, he finds himself in a private island in Greece belonging to tech magnate Miles (Edward Norton, "The Illusionist") on a mysterious invitation for a murder mystery weekend getaway. The high-tech island shows off the vainglorious Miles’ riches, glorious glass structures and sculptures, and not to be outdone by one historic art collection.
The billionaire invites his close circle of friends and allies to solve a murder mystery play. When one of the guests dies for real, everyone becomes a suspect. The lights are out and everyone is trapped on the island. To compound the confusion and paranoia, there’s also a question whether the victim is the intended target and if there’s another victim.
The privileged guests are fashion icon Birdie (Kate Hudson) and her assistant Peg (Jessica Henwick), YouTube influencer Duke (Dave Bautista, “The Avengers”) and his girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline), stylish scientist Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr.), liberal politician Claire (Kathryn Hahn), and last but not least, Miles’ former business partner, Andi (Janelle Monae, “Hidden Figures”).
Everyone’s surprised by Andi’s presence and why she’s still invited in the first place, considering Miles ruthlessly and legally cut her out of the company they co-founded together. Soon we’ll have to take a double take, as there’s a lot more to incensed Andi than meets the puzzled eye.
While Miles preaches that they are e true disruptors of the world, Andi stabs into the heart of his mendacious speech. There’s a common thread among how everyone gets to the pinnacle of their careers and fames, and it’s not ingenuity. Monae is particularly marvelous in her performance. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and it’s not what you think it is. The guests are forced to unmask and reveal who they really are, and decide what their breaking points are.
The ingenuity here lies in the story construct. There are multiple reasons why the film is called ‘Glass Onion.’ Halfway through Blanc cuts back and peels back the onion of a story layer by layer, but also noting that while an onion may look like complicated layers, the center hides in plain sight. You will not see the revelation coming! And when you think all hopes might be lost, something else comes out of the gate, exploding in a blaze of glory.
“Glass Onion: Knives Out Mystery” takes translucent jabs at political, social, economic and entertainment elites in a polarized society, while delivering a masterful mystery and whodunit entertainment.