by Aaron Schweitzer, Editor
Ever since Looper, I have been fascinated with what Rian Johnson will do next. I quickly looked into his previous filmography and got excited to see what he had coming up. Little did I know that his next big screen adventure would be a Star Wars movie, and when it was announced, it was immediately the film I was most interested in. As a Last Jedi apologist, I got increasingly excited about Johnson’s new projects. Disney announced he would make his own trilogy, and it seemed like everything was coming up Aaron. Then it seemed less likely that his trilogy would happen, and it wouldn’t be another five or more years before we saw his next film. Then came Knives Out, a film that I adore and cannot believe was snubbed at the Academy Awards in 2019. It currently sits at number six of all time for me, and there is a good chance it is going to climb before it falls. In fact, I also have Looper at number nine and The Last Jedi at 22, so… yeah, call me a Johnson fanboy. When it was announced there would be a sequel to my sixth favorite film of all time, it quickly became the movie I was most excited for. Even with a Netflix ownership and a stupid subtitle, nothing could hold me back from seeing Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery as soon as I possibly could.
This film has to be the ensemble cast of the year, including Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, and a few others that I won’t mention to not spoil their surprises. Each person plays their role perfectly, and there really isn’t a misplaced character or actor, similar to the original film. While I am sad that we don’t continue the story with Marta or some other beloved characters from the original film, I never missed their presence. Glass Onion is truly Benoit Blanc’s next big case, and it feels refreshingly detached, unlike the modern Hercule Poirot films. Even when there are callbacks to Blanc’s past, it isn’t connected to the Thrombey killing, but to past cases only referred to in the original. I bring all this up to simply say that Glass Onion isn’t simply Knives Out 2, and the film is absolutely better for it. As someone who fell in love with the characters and setting of the original film, I did the same this time around.
It would be fair to say that this movie was never going to live up to the expectations I created for it, and while it isn’t in my top 100 of all time (yet), I easily fall into the “Loved It” camp. I want to go further in this review, and I won’t spoil anything, but I think it is fair to say if you haven’t seen Glass Onion, you probably should stop reading this review after this paragraph. So much of this type of film’s enjoyment comes from knowing as little as you can, and that is truly the best way to see this movie. Overall, I’ll say the mystery is satisfying, the film is funny (although not nearly as funny as its predecessor), the narrative has an interesting spin on it, the cinematography and set design are stunning, and after this film, I no longer care about Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy, because I want him to keep making Benoit Blanc stories for the rest of his life.
Okay, so now that you’re reading on, I want to touch on some things that I observed. I do my absolute best to try to remain curious and open-minded about a film so I’m not disappointed when it doesn’t go where I want it to go, or draw its conclusions where there aren’t any. That being said, I saw the killer do something that gave them away as guilty right before the first kill happens. As the rest of the film went on, I was not curious as to whodunnit, but more about when Blanc would realize whodunnit. One of my favorite things about Knives Out is that it shows you how Thrombey dies halfway through the movie and then gives you more context, so you aren’t asking whodunnit, but how Blanc is going to catch them. Then it becomes a whodunnit again. Glass Onion did a very similar thing to me.
I was still speculating on a partnership, and I had my theories, but we can chat on that in a place that is spoiler-friendly. I also noticed a trend in the killer(s) that led me to the conclusion long before Blanc did. I think I was even at that conclusion before the movie shows its hand and then spoon feeds it to us.
I was surprised that this movie decided to take place in May 2020, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it acknowledges the pandemic in some very real ways. As I was watching the film, I thought it to be off putting and unnecessary, especially because it quickly becomes a non-factor.
I don’t consider my last three observations as negatives; rather, I view them as genius because they play into the finale so well. COVID itself was rather inconsequential in this film, but the feeling that we all had in May 2020 plays an integral role in this mystery. I knew who the killer(s) were long before Blanc did, but I truly believe Johnson wanted every audience member to see the killing action. On a rewatch, you will never not see it, which is pretty typical for mysteries. When I left with my group, I was surprised that out of the four of us, I was the only one to notice. Everything seemed to be right in my face, and I was frustrated that I seemed to be way ahead of the game. I shouldn’t be compared to the world’s second greatest detective (Blanc even says himself that he’s no Batman).
Blanc makes the observation pretty early on that the idea of a glass onion is silly. It seems complex and layered, but you can see straight to the core, so it is rather a silly concept. I know I am not making a grand observation since the movie makes this point itself, but that is why I love it so much. When Blanc finally figured it out, it triggered something special in me. Not a sense of pride, but a sense of relief. The movie wasn’t smarter than me. It was never trying to be. It highlighted a period of time that we all went through where we all were searching for something much greater than we were actually given. Not everything has to be grand and complex. Sometimes things are very simple and there is beauty (and comedy) in that.
If I had to label anything as a negative, it would be that the film suffers some minor pacing issues, and I wish it was slightly funnier. After I saw the film, I thought it was a solid 9/10, but after sitting on it for even 24 hours, I am confident that it is going to grow on me. As I write this, I’m considering upping it to a 10/10, but for now, I’m going to play it safe and keep it where it is. When I saw Knives Out, I thought the same thing, and look where we are now. I really doubt this film will rise as much as that one did, but I can’t wait to rewatch it. I’m so glad I saw it in a theater, and I’m glad I saw it with loved ones, but most of all, I’m so glad I can watch this movie again as much as I want in only a few weeks.
Score: 9/10
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will be streaming on Netflix on December 23
You can follow Aaron Schweitzer on Twitter and Letterboxd