Glass Onion Knives Out: Rian Johnson disrupts murder mystery conventions in this bigger, flashier sequel

Glass Onion is exactly like its title, a meticulously crafted story that needs to be peeled carefully, unlike its prequel. The first film was a suave whodunnit mystery interspersed with selective flashbacks—-a Cluedo game, in essence. The second film on the other hand, turns Cluedo on its head and invents its own rules, and combines it with a match on a chessboard. It’s flashier and louder—perhaps a little too much during the climax of the film—but still vastly entertaining.  It is not just a murder mystery—there’s too much happening behind the scenes that we slowly find out in time and every seemingly small throwaway detail adds to the story.  The film is packed with far messier mind games among the bratty rich and privileged, imposter identities and unsuspecting cameos. Instead of an old mansion, thick sweaters, gloomy skies, we are taken to the summery feels of Greece where the powerful sip cocktails in the presence of a tech billionaire whose antics sound suspiciously familiar—Rian Johnson knew where he was going with this. The parading of the filthy rich and their wealth become points for satirical comedy, to the extent that the film seems like it was just made for pot-shots taken at the wealthy. Yet, at its heart, Glass Onion has a rather eat-the-rich vibe and mocks the desperate need for those to flaunt their wealth. 

Where do ordinary people fit in this claustrophobic world of opulent gizmos, billionaires, mansions and shallow influencers? But Benoit Blanc isn’t here to fit into this world, and neither is Janelle Monae’s Cassandra, the only one who casts a shadow on this sunny set of people. Blanc enjoys tearing down the delusions while Andy (or who she says she is at first) unveils the dark truths that they all hide and how ready they would be to feed their friends to the wolves if they could. 

The story is simple at first glance. Miles Bron (Norton) is reveling in a vast fortune that he made from his new tech platform. He invites his old friends over for the weekend to his mansion on the island as he has planned a ‘murder mystery game’ for them. Much to his bewilderment, detective Benoit Blanc shows up, claiming that he received the invite. Even more baffling, is the presence of Janelle Monae’s brooding Cassandra, or Andy, as she is called. It’s clear from the start, she’s ready to ruffle up feathers and doesn’t hold back from verbally jousting with each one of them. The group is wildly disconcerted on seeing her there, especially Miles, but he composes himself. Each detail matters—there’s a reason for this discomfort—it’s not just because she showed up.  This group of ‘disruptors’, as they’re called, has very familiar real-life figures, including a typical Meninist (Dave Bautista), the usual dim-witted model Birdie (a brilliant Kate Hudson). Andy is still seething over being mercilessly cut out from Miles’s company—as is evident from her barbs. However, these friends have a bone to pick with Miles too, as he is a slimy fellow in every respect. The tensions begin to boil and the murder mystery party takes place where Blanc pricks Miles’ bubble instantly as he solves the mystery in a heartbeat, much to Miles’s chagrin. A rather bemused Blanc tells Miles that he hosted a murder mystery party for everyone who actually have reasons to kill him—what is he really thinking?

A murder finally occurs, and then Johnson rewrites the script as the characters panic in the dark, literally. Nothing is as it seems; we’re taken back to the very beginning. Nothing is a coincidence, least of all Andy’s presence—a brilliant Janelle Monae plays a furious woman, embarking on a perilous journey of truth, mingled with revenge, and she’s got Blanc for the ride. You have to piece together the puzzle of the real victim; and it’s definitely not a snarky billionaire. It might not even be the one who was murdered in front of your eyes beginning the entire game of charades—there’s a peculiar distinction between the person who is murdered on screen, who could be murdered, and the one who was already murdered before the film began. It’s a slow start—you might lose patience and tell yourself that the first one was far more taut—but when Glass Onion finally kicks off, it doesn’t stop and becomes a breathless ride.

Glass Onion is a joyride, and is hugely entertaining. It’s the perfect blend of mystery, comedy and scathing satire. It is a testament to Rian Johnson’s ability to craft his own brand of murder mystery, with just a dash of the right ingredients from Agatha Christie’s novels.