Tech billionaire Miles Bron invites his friends for a getaway on his private Greek island. When someone turns up dead, Detective Benoit Blanc is put on the case.
Director: Rian Johnson
Cast: Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista
Release Date: November 23, 2022
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Rated PG-13 for strong language, some violence, sexual material and drug content
Runtime: 2h 20m
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is the kind of film that pulsates with palatable energy from its cast and director that you can't help but be entranced in the murder mystery at play. Rian Johnson delivers another sharp and playful mystery for his own Hercule Poirot, Detective Benoit Blanc. Johnson and Daniel Craig clearly love the material and character with their energy gleefully seeping through the screen. Craig clearly loves playing the character and his Foghorn Leghorn drawl with this entry finding him refining his persona making him more human even with the outsized attitudes. He's graced with another solid ensemble cast who all bring their own sort of energy. They, like Blanc, are all oversized personas representing certain kinds of people from eccentric billionaires like Ed Norton's Miles Bron or Kate Hudson's ditzy supermodel Birdie Jay. Ethan Hawke shows up for a split second before disappearing entirely which leaves you wondering if a subplot was left on the cutting room floor. Still, Johnson makes solid use of the rest of the supporting cast throughout the film which likes to play with scenes by telling them from different points of view as the story unfolds. Each character has their own underlying agenda at play with Janelle Monáe's Cassandra Brand being the crux of the story. In its final act the film feels reminiscent of the 1985's Clue, a game Blanc hates, with character's motivations being dissected. The final reveal isn't much of a surprise but that doesn't make it any less fun when the cast in front of the camera and director behind it are clearly having so much fun.
A-
