Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

GLASS ONION: A Knives Out Mystery

By: Adam Freed

Rian Johnson makes no secret of his affinity for secrets. His love for mystery to be more accurate. It should be no surprise then that he made a name for himself with Brick (2005) a film noir murder mystery set in the world of a California High School. The massive critical and theatrical success of Knives Out is then predictably followed by its sequel, Glass Onion, an ode to the Beatles song of the same name.

Johnson conducts a massively talented ensemble to what is sure to become one of the greatest Act 1’s in recent history. An initial scene sure to lure film lovers into echoing Brad Pitt's quandary from genre predecessor Seven, “What’s in the box?!?” And this is only the beginning of the endless fun.  A great director of any genre, allows a cast to play to their strengths. This is where Rian Johnson tripling as writer, director and casting director makes sense. Nobody delivers a monologue quite like Edward Norton in his Elon-esque name dropping, self aggrandizing, ode to the allure of the billionaire mogul. In addition is the perfectly cast Kate Hudson, scene stealing Janelle Monet and of course Daniel Craig who chews the role of the southern fried gentleman so slowly and meticulously, that one forgets the high voltage sizzling between his ears, until he is permitted to unleash his observational genius.

Throughout the Knives Out sequel, audiences are reminded that a glass onion lends the appearance of being layered, yet provides a clear view of what sits at the heart of the matter. This fact cannot be closer to the truth when it comes to this film’s non-linear plot design. Through all of the layers, multiplicity, and puzzle centric story telling, one doesn’t need to squint to see what is really going on. The only shame of this film is that it would be best appreciated on the silver screen and was only available in theaters for one week prior to becoming Netflix’s holiday talisman. With this being Glass Onion’s greatest flaw, audiences are in for a treat.