Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Movie Review

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a 2022 Netflix film that is perhaps the most refreshing movie to end the year 2022. Of its many fancies, perhaps the most intriguing is having Daniel Craig, previously playing James Bond, act in a comedy and be authentically hilarious. The movie is about a detective, Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, who goes to an island in Greece to tackle his latest mystery.

The Metaphor of a Glass Onion

A Glass Onion, as a metaphor, is very intriguing in the sense that as an onion, it has many layers on top of one another, however, it is also made of glass that is see-through. What this translates to is that despite having so many layers that need uncovering to get to the core, the onion, or issue at hand, is also clear to see as it is made of glass. What this means in the movie is that the culprit of the murder in question is apparent and the mystery isn't so much a mystery in that sense.

Miles the Billionaire

Miles, the billionaire owner of the Aqua Company invites a cabal of his closest friends to his Greek island for their yearly weekend away. The weekend is set to be one of unfolding a mystery about who kills him. Yes, Miles has set up a mystery where he is murdered and wants his friends to unfold it and find the murderer, his/her motive, and how they accomplished the murder. He, however, has two unexpected guests to his soiree.

Andi

Miles, played by Edward Norton, formed his billion-dollar company Aqua with his co-founder Andi Brand, played by Janelle Monáe. They, however, parted ways with Miles locking her out of the company and her share of it. Andi wasn't happy and despite a nasty lawsuit lost out and was left aggrieved. Sadly, their mutual friends also betrayed her in favor of Miles.

The 5 Sh*theads

Miles was introduced to the 5 sh*theads by Andi. They were first Andi's friends and she introduced them to this cheeky guy named Miles Bron. The sh*theads include Birdie, a 'washed up' model, Duke, a struggling YouTuber, Claire, a governor, and Lionel Toussaint, a scientist. They are Miles' inner circle and we later discover why they would even be willing to commit purgery for him. Kate Hudson plays Birdie, Dave Bautista plays Duke, Kathryn Hahn plays Claire, and Leslie Odom Jr. plays Lionel Toussaint.

The Island

Glass Onion as Miles names his Greek island is a marvel. It is a plush island set on the idyllic Greek coast. The house itself, which he names the Glass Onion, is crowned with a beautiful and humongous glass onion [literally] whose glazing shimmers in the coastal sun. The invited guests marvel at its beauty with Detective Benoit Blanc intrigued the most, by the mystery of it and the metaphor of the glass onion explained above.

Miles' Walkover Mystery

The weekend's planned mystery by Miles turns out to be a walkover mystery for Detective Benoit Blanc. Blanc quickly debunks it as the soiree is just starting out. Miles is visibly agitated but buys an idea from Blanc; who calls his inviting of his possible murderers for a weekend at his island crazy. Blanc says it is like "putting a gun on the table and turning off the lights".