Advertisement
Become a member of the Big Issue community
JOIN
Film

Glass Onion review: Less intricate than Knives Out but way more fun

Glass Onion is a whodunnit that knows what it is: a lighthearted, star-packed love letter to a genre that felt dormant for far too long. 

Glass Onion

Glass Onion. Image: Netflix

It was mere months before the first lockdown that audiences flocked to cinemas to watch national treasure Daniel Craig try his hand at the consulting detective archetype in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out. The star-studded murder mystery saw the inception of Benoit Blanc, a witty investigator with a dramatically underlined Southern accent described by Chris Evans’s character in the 2019 film as a “Kentucky-fried Foghorn Leghorn drawl.” The accent played a major part in distancing the British actor from the overpowering shadow of James Bond, a role he had already announced he was set to step away from. 

For Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Craig reprises his role as Benoir, headlining yet another A-lister cast. Edward Norton is Miles, a tech tycoon with a messiah complex who gathers his small group of best friends for a lavish vacation at an equally lavish location once a year. This time, the group is invited to the billionaire’s private island in Greece, where they are all to partake in an intricately planned murder mystery game — Miles’ pretend corpse at the centre of the charade.  

The group is a diverse bunch straight out of Gen Z Cluedo: Claire (Kathryn Hahn) is a soccer mom turned politician; Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr.) is a brilliantly minded scientist and Miles’ head lackey; Duke (Dave Bautista) is a Twitch streamer piling up millions of views thanks to the ever-online incels who praise his brainless misogynistic spew; Birdie (Kate Hudson) is a washed-up pop-star-slash-sweatpants-ambassador who packages hate speech as “telling it like it is”; and, finally, Andy (Janelle Monáe) is Miles’ very own Eduardo Saverin [the Brazilian billionaire entrepreneur and less famous Facebook co-founder].

Despite being the mind behind the mogul’s billionaire empire, Andy was legally cut from the company in a ruthless move that saw her ostracised not only from the business she dedicated her life to but from the friends she believed placed her higher than the shiny golden hues of cash (“He ‘Social Network’d her’”, observes Lionel).

Joining this eclectic bunch is Blanc himself, who mysteriously receives an invitation to this highly private rendezvous for reasons that will be peeled layer by layer by Johnson in a nod to the film’s quirky title, a direct reference to the name of the bar where the group of friends met before fame and success. It is a cleverly built set-up, a pressure cooker rapidly brewing conflicts around privilege and ethics that become heightened as the group is placed in an isolated arena that highlights the true nature of their bond. And what an arena this is. A mansion straight out of Architectural Digest with a literal glass onion placed like a cherry on top of the Greek hill, the property and its many winding paths is the ideal setting for this luxury game of cat and mouse. 

The script, written by Johnson, is an amalgamation of attentively placed crumbs and sharp-witted one-liners that not only mark the beats of this satire but also help delineate the over-the-top nature of the characters. “You have a Google alert for the word movie?”, a puzzled Lionel asks Duke, who replies in a heartbeat, “I like movies”.  The two satellite characters — a girlfriend and an assistant — work as pawns in this game of whodunnit that feels less intricate than its predecessor, albeit way more fun. The film knows what it is, a lighthearted, star-packed love letter to a genre that was dormant for far too long. 

Advertisement
Advertisement

In this balance, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery proves a great time. Yes, the twists are slightly less polished this time around, but it matters little when you have a deliciously unhinged Kate Hudson screaming “What is reality!” at the top of her lungs while wearing a gorgeous multicolour gown. To top it all, the always wonderful Janelle Monáe delivers one of her greatest performances in a role that allows her to waltz between drama and comedy with the added benefit of a faultlessly mastered accent, good enough to overshadow Blanc’s. Throw in a feast of costume and set design that sees the discrete elegance of linen juxtaposed with the tacky nature of crystal and you have the perfect recipe for good old entertainment.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is in select UK cinemas from November 23 for one week, before its release on Netflix on December 23

Advertisement

Become a Big Issue member

3.8 million people in the UK live in extreme poverty. Turn your anger into action - become a Big Issue member and give us the power to take poverty to zero.

Recommended for you

View all
Joker: Folie à Deux says nothing meaningful about living with mental illness
Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck (aka Joker) and Lady Gaga as Harley ‘Lee’ Quinn in Folie à Deux
Film

Joker: Folie à Deux says nothing meaningful about living with mental illness

Actor Adam Pearson: 'I wake up every morning, let the universe kick my arse and then carry on'
Adam Pearson in A Different Man
Letter To My Younger Self

Actor Adam Pearson: 'I wake up every morning, let the universe kick my arse and then carry on'

Will Ferrell takes a crash course in trans advocacy in new Netflix doc Will & Harper
Will Ferrell and Harper Steele
Film

Will Ferrell takes a crash course in trans advocacy in new Netflix doc Will & Harper

My Old Ass review – a sweet and cathartic coming-of-ages movie with a twist
Elliott (Maisy Stella, left) with her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza).
Film

My Old Ass review – a sweet and cathartic coming-of-ages movie with a twist

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know