I find Glass Onion a perfect continuation to Knives Out. It's such a miss that it is only supposed to be a trilogy, with David Craig who so charmingly plays Benoit Blanc I think deserves at least two more. Been a while when we got such a wonderful detective story that is interspersed with sort of black humor.
Hiding in plain sight
It can be said about many parts of this movie, concerning the story itself, the solution to the puzzle of who is the murderer, the decoration items. And the whole movie itself is constructed so well in the variety of small details that it's interesting to find new and more ideas about the meanings in this movie, maybe which weren't intended to be there and people just imagine it, but it's wonderful that the possibility to imagine is fair and applicable and makes the movie have more depth to it.
The story settings are known to all, the billionaire Miles Bron invites his "friends" over for a weekend trip to his private island to have.. a Murder Mystery weekend, where they solve his murder. Which supposed to be just role-playing, but at some point things turn unexpectedly. Which I find ironic as we find out the truth. But the parody on billionaires of real life is uncanny.
His "friends" consist of Duke (Twitch streamer), Whiskey (his girldfriend), Lionel (scientist working for Miles), Birdie (fashuon designer) and Claire (politician). Other two participants are Benoit Blanc, who was supposedly been invited along others and Andi, former business partner with Miles. Each person has distinct personality traits, but they have one thing in common, they now are in the same boat with Miles, especially after perjury against Andi over ownership to intellectual property of their company and that is the original idea behind it, which was scribbled on the napkin of "Glass Onion" bar.
No need for introduction to Miles Bron himself, he is a billionaire with weirdest ideas and talks like marketing seminar or a spiritual trip guide all-together. From the beginning it was bothering me that among others he felt fake the most. Brilliantly played by Edward Norton. Miles' image is an open mockery. He guides other when others are meant to play along.
It's like a faint king whose vassals will always compliment or do things for the king, otherwise they'll end up badly.
But because Benoit Blanc solves his mystery game in several minutes he wasted explaining the script of it to all present at the dinner, which ruins all the fun, Miles also shares the plans for the upcoming meeting of powerful figures. And that is his obsession as we find out, the new fuel. To Lionel's question of this fuel not being tested yet Miles confessed that the entire mansion runs on it. And we know from it that Miles doesn't care about scientific testing to be sure the thing is completely safe. We find about this fuel a bit later, but it plays a great role, I actually went back to be sure how the fuel changed hands and there was an accent on it. And that is Miles throws the fuel to Benoit, but never retrieved it, which sounds foolish.
Note about the living room: it's more like a big display museum with many artwork hanging around the walls and glass sculptures dispersed around. Including main display - Mona Lisa, which Miles claimed to buy during the pandemic Louvre crisis. Mona Lisa is turned with its' back against the window, it has a security system that allows the painting to be protected immediately at every possible danger, demonstrated by the lighter Miles lit. As we find out about Miles himself and the mansion and by the very end of the movie we look back and start question what was actually real and what was fake to support the ego of its' owner. But when you keep up with the details, especially after watching few vids on the artwork presented in the movie, you get a deeper understanding. I like the fact that through the artwork it showed Miles' character, hidden but in plain sight.
The gathering is disrupted by a sudden death of Duke. And we as viewers are led to think like people present at the scene, that Duke most certainly was poisoned, but he drank from the glass that belonged to Miles, so everyone at the scene becomes a suspect and suddenly Miles is portrayed as the victim.
What's next? Miles is panicked and informs everyone that to make things more fun there will be an automatic outage and the scene is shrouded in darkness. With the only illumination from the lighthouse.
Everyone disperses in panic, especially Miles. Benoit explores the mansion and he meets Andi, but he calls her Helen, when amidst their discussion Helen is shot. We also only see a hand and a gun depriving us from knowing if the hand belongs to a man or a woman.
While Helen's body lies on the steps, the power in the house runs again and Benoit asks everyone to gather again in the living room, everyone demanding an answer and here we have the flashback.
The cool detail with supposed-to-be Andi is that her scene at the beginning where everyone was solving Miles' puzzle box she appears with her head wrapped with towel, so we instantly assumed it's Andi even though we haven't seen her hair. But I think another cool detail pointing out it wasn't Andi was that she crashed the box with the hammer, instead of solving it, but it also works with justification that she was angry with Miles for his betrayal and almost open mockery.
Maybe it had such purpose in the beginning. After all the boxes took time to make, which leads us to think that Andi was initially invited anyway. But who knew things would develop like this. Only when the flashback start we find out that the one in the beginning is not Andi, but her twin-sister Helen. She came to Benoit from Alabama with her conviction that just few days ago her sister did not commit suicide, but instead was murdered and she wants the truth of "who did it". The truth behind it might be simlple. When the company started they worked together and Miles had a share, while others were tagged along, then Miles got a crazy idea about the fuel, but Andi was against it, since it was fatally dangerous. Then Miles and Andi were involved in a court case over intellectual property - who owned the original idea that was scribbled on the fateful napkin. All others who were originally her friends were involved with Miles and their perjury helped Andi lose the case. As Helen found later Andi, who thought her napkin was lost forever, incidentally finds it in a book. She sends the e-mail that mysteriously says "Found it", but this means that all four and Miles himself have a motive to murder Andi. But who did it exactly is unknown.
The task is not simple, not only the murderer must be caught, but for the better the original napkin should be retrieved. Benoit offers something unexpected, while the news will be concealed for a while, for Helen to pretend to be Andi and come along to the island and while Benoit's exploring and asking questions might meet caution, she might prove a better investigator. Snooping. As it happened Helen proved to be quite good at it. The island is big, the mansion is big and there are many places to stay unnotice while hearing others talk. But again everyone had the motive to protect Miles, since they depended on him and their careers will be in jeopardy actually if they agree to what Miles demands them to do. From friends they became his puppets who were afraid to go against the master. And they gladly playe along, since their careers depended on him.
But so far the list of suspects for them stayed at the number four, even if they found that Lionel sent the copy of Andi's e-mail to Miles' fax (the detail is that he used to write FYI with a sharpie, like they did in the first movie).
They believe that the envelope might still be there in one of the rooms. At least it's a beginning to find it. Benoit proposes to Helen stage a conflict to have a valid reason to leave the living rooms and use the time and search the rooms for the envelope and not be afraid to be obvious. Which she did, she staged the fight, left as if defeated and ran to the rooms, but the envelope just wasn't there. Then the blackout happened. Helen had no idea why it happened and meets Whiskey, for a second time she advises her to leave Duke who is an asshole, but she had no idea that Duke was lying dead and others thought it was "Andi" who killed him. Helen runs away and meets Benoit on the stairs (who now we understand wasn't randomly looking around, but was looking for Helen) and we are back with this flashback loop to the point where we left. Helen is shot, but she's not dead, she is saved by Andi's diary, yet Benoit finds it a perfect chance as a cover for her to search one and only room left - Glass Onion.
Benoit still holds the bottle of hot sauce he took from the table and they used it as fake blood
While Benoit asks other to follow him to the living room, Helen dashes towards the Glass Onion.
It's amazing how the phrase "hidden in plain sight" plays so well.
After Helen appears with the envelope, while Benoit explains what was hidden in plain sight all the time and that bothered him all along.
Embreathiate
Blanc: I can peel back the layers, I can take it to a point, but what lies at the center, only one person can tell us who killed Cassandra Brand. I keep returning in my mind to the "glass onion." Something that seems densely layered, mysterious and inscrutable, but in fact the center is in plain sight. And that is why this case has confounded me like no other, why every complex layer peeled back has revealed another layer and another layer and come to naught. And that was the problem! You see, I expected complexity! I expected intelligence! I expected a puzzle, a game, but that is not what any of this is! It hides not behind complexity but behind mind numbing obvious clarity! Truth is, it does not hide at all! I was staring right at it! The killer nearly struck my Achilles heel. But thank high heaven, at the last moment, I realized what has teased my brain through this entire case! "Embreathiate" is not a word! Not a real word. Kinda sounds like one. But just entirely made up. "Reclamation" IS a word - but it is the wrong word! This entire day - a veritable minefield of malapropisms and factual errors! His dock doesn't float, his wonder fuel is a disaster, his grasp of disruption theory is remedial at best, he didn't design the puzzle boxes, he didn't write the mystery - and voila, it all adds up, the key to this entire case, and it was staring me right in the face. Like everyone in the world I assumed that Miles Bron was a complicated genius. But why? Look into the clear center of this glass onion: Miles Bron is an idiot!
— Glass Onion. Screenplay.
And it becomes apparent, there was no other, but Miles all this time. And Duke paid with his life because he mentioned it right in front of others, in plain sight he talked about their near crash at Andi's house, he also shows him Andi's news, threatens Miles and offers being on Alpha News to pay off for silence. Miles uses what Blanc described, loaded gun and turning off the light. When Duke always had a gun on him Miles took it from him. While Duke had an allergy for pineapple juice, Miles used it to add to his own whiskey and gave the glass to Duke himself and the phone that Duke had was in Miles' pocket. If you pay attention you can actually see it when he runs around playing a panicked man.
But what seems to be the end of it and a devastating end, when Miles' crimes have been revealed and Helen were not careful at putting the original napkin in front of Miles, he took a chance and burned it with the lighter. Helen asks Benoit to do or think of anything at all, because otherwise the truth will be buried and others will not be responsible and tell the truth, they will act the same as they did in court against Andi, but Benoit for some reason gives another advice - And a reminder of why your sister
walked away in the first place.
Now, by this time I forgot about this episode, but we get back to it, because we didn't know what happened to Klear after miles gave it to Benoit. Nothing happened, it was still with him.
I must confess, because I forgot it bothered me what she held in her hand, but then it was so satisfying to watch her crushing all the displayed glass pieces, be they real or not, it felt like it had no purpose, but it had! After crashing all the glass she smashed the bar and all the bottles leaked of course. By this time even everyone except Miles had a piece or two smashed as a mean of protest to Milis bullying nature. She used his lighter, which we saw earlier, to light the fire and it got bigger and bigger, since she threw pillows and covers and even her own jacket. And oh my god with that fire growing higher and higher you must think what was the purpose, before Helen simply reveals that little piece of fuel and throws it into the fire.
There is a reverse reaction, don't know how to name it scientifically, but it allows all the fire being sucked into ventilation and we hear the big bada-boom.
I mean.. it looks spectacular, pretty bad that there's a lot of cgi at the scene, I miss the good old realism, but! Blowing the glass onion is like blowing what Miles has worked for so hard, it's not just a building, it's his idea, his "philosophy".
I love that Benoit is shown sitting in a chaise lounge or something and smokes it while looking at all hell breaking loose in front of him. I love him for this, he has his own justice. When he can't seek justice where it's impossible, he is smart enough to push forward what can be used for justice in abother way.
The scene is on fire and it seems all the art work and everything is lost, the baby blue Porsche falls through the roof. But there is just one thing that stays safe - Mona Lisa.
Realizing what she's going to do Miles tries to stop Helen from pressing the release button Miles did for himself, for his vain idea of looking into Mona Lisa's eyes without the glass cover. And oh boi she presses it hard. The last safety glass falls and Mona Lisa is engulfed in flames.
That slow-motions and Mona Lisa song though, had no idea such song existed. Although those who know would immediately realize that the Mona Lisa is fake, because what burned down was canvas and Mona Lisa is painted on wood. I think it's a finishing touch, really great finishing touch.
Outisde, choked from the smoke, the entire gang sits on the main stairs with Miles going wild and saying Helen achieved nothing with this, but Helen answered - Your fuel of the future just
barbecued the world's most famous
painting, dumbass. Congratulations on
the public launch of Klear and the
end of Miles Bron. Which is a perfect revenge in itself. No need to go through this the Miles' way, bu the rude and disruptive way.
So at this moment even the rest of the crowd rebels, saying they saw him burning the napkin and also taking the gun. While Helen already walked away.
I love the way Helen sits at the end, embracing the Mona Lisa-esque pose. Which she is, the one who left her mark in the story and in this movie.
Like someone pointed fairly that she often also has her hands crossed in a similar fashion throughout the movie.
Now, details (not all obviously, thre's so much, it's easier to watch a YT video about all Easter eggs)
- GLASS ONION.
- I love that they brought it up as sort of mockery, I consider it such. It exists as a vain idea of a billionaire man who wants to give it meaning it doesn't have. Some of the modern art is like that, it looks like actual trash, but people give it so much credit though.
- The second part of the "onion" is about being complex yet being apparent at the same time. Like the role of Miles he covered himself with, he is the perfect PR manager of himself. He is fully fake, but now he has all the money to do anything no matter how foolish it sounds. He is vain, it shows in everything, starting from his mansion filled with artwork, to exclusive color of his Porsche and is portrayed by many details.
- ARTWORK. It shows like nothing else showcases how fake and foolish Miles is. For this you really need to watch a YT video that names the paintings that are hanging around the house. One painting even obviously hanging upside-down, but not knowing art you can't tell, but Miles presents himself as knowing it and appreciating it acts like a vain collector with too much money. After all he starts to showcase his mansion with the Glass Onion as its' center, hourly "DONG" should be composed by a famous composer, his murder mystery was written by a famous name (but he mispronounces it) etc.
- MONA LISA. As vain as Miles Bron can be he compared himself, what he tries to do in life to Mona Lisa. This idea travels throughout the movie and is Miles' philosophy in life. Though he has not enough brain to comprehend that his ideas might not end well. And if we think, he might have succeeded into talking people in. Miles' only great characteristic is that he knows how to talk and does it fast, but the result might be disastorous. And even if this company, his empire, serves him for some time, because of his foolishness it might collapse. And there will be no mark of his in history, everyone will remember his fuel though. Good thing Mona Lisa is fake, Louvre figured he's an idiot and giving him the original is dangerous.
- DISRUPTORS (a.k.a. Shitheads). The idea about disruptors is simple, you break the old idea that everyone got tired of, but no one dared to destroy before. Everyone from the team might have been called that before, but now they're simply dance along with Miles, they are now just shitheads. He might be a disruptor who faces the system. But I like how someone pointed out that the true disruptor is Helen, she went against the billionaire, because Miles is now the system, she disrupted his plans in selling the dangerous fuel and brought his life to collapse in the revenge for her sister. Wonderful finale :)
~ ~ ~
Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa
Men have named you
You are so like the lady with the mystic smile
Is it only cause you're lonely
They have blamed you
For that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile
Do you smile to tempt a lover, Mona Lisa
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there, and they die there
Are you warm, are you real Mona Lisa
Or just a cold and lonely, lovely work of art
Do you smile to tempt a lover, Mona Lisa
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there, and they die there
Are you warm, are you real Mona Lisa
Or just a cold and lonely, lovely work of art
Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa
—By Nat "King" Cole