The new Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery rests almost entirely around a concept that has no translation into our language. The expression that gives the film its title is this figure of speech for something that presents itself as a glass onion — something that seems complex and far-fetched, full of layers, but that is not able to hide any secret. An image that illustrates very well what this continuation is.
when the first Between Knives and Secrets hit theaters in 2019, it was a pleasant surprise. Director Rian Johnson has revived a type of story that had been half-forgotten and given a new look by bringing the classic murder mystery — the whodunnit — with a good dose of humor, great characters and a sharp and delightful script to follow.
The problem is that this is a combination that is not so simple to reproduce and that is noticeable here. As much as the new Netflix film strives to recreate that experience that conquered so many people, it seems that it tries too hard to maintain the charisma and chaotic spirit that worked so well in the original feature that it forgets the basics: presenting a mystery that be really engaging.
Research that doesn’t happen
Though unintentional, the film’s awful national name pretty much captures the spirit behind the return of Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery it is a name that presents itself with a pomp that, in the end, says nothing. And this is more or less the atmosphere of the great “mystery” that must be unraveled.
The synopsis sells an intriguing and attention-grabbing conundrum: an eccentric billionaire invites a group of notable friends (as well as Detective Blanc) to his private island in Greece for the weekend to play a little game — an investigation into his own murder. .
So we have all the pieces for a whodunnit classic, with very different characters cloistered in one place and all with enough motives to be suspect. It is the formula that immortalized Agatha Christie’s writing and on which most of Sherlock Holmes’ novels are based.
And, in that sense, Glass Onion hits very well. All this mystery building is very good and perfectly follows the genre’s chart, with the addition that both its protagonist and the characters that are part of this game are great to follow. The problem is that the film simply gets lost in what is most fun about these stories: the investigation and resolution.
A good whodunnit it also turns the viewer into a detective. It’s that narrative that plays with our perceptions and makes us believe that the culprit is either Colonel Mostarda, or Miss Rosa. As interesting as putting the pieces on the board is letting us be part of the moves that lead to checkmate.
And that’s where the continuation of Between Knives and Secrets stumble. While the first half of the film is dedicated to building suspense and presenting each of the suspects and their possible motivations, the second part is entirely focused on showing how everything happened, leaving no room for us to participate in this investigation.
As soon as the crime happens, the script starts throwing the answers on the screen. For more than an hour, the film becomes a great exposition of everything that happened and leaves the audience out of that feeling of being a little Benoit. At no time do you feel cheated by following false leads, as there is barely time for that.
In fact, the whole thing is so rushed that the protagonist himself ceases to be the genius detective that we are promised and becomes just the narrator of what the film has hidden from us. Everything is shown in such a hurried way that there is barely time for us to see the insight of the character that conquered us in the previous film. In the end, it lacks the charm of the first film.
still fun
At the same time, there is no way to say that Glass Onion it’s a bad movie. Although not equivalent to Between Knives and Secrets, it follows a lot of fun and entertains with a mystery that isn’t brilliant but still entertains. Like this glass onion, it is worth much more for the adornments of its layers than for the secret it pretends to keep.
In this case, the great success of the feature are its characters. Daniel Craig returns to play this detective who is genius, but not infallible and perfect like Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes. And it is in his quirks and in the very discomfort of being among such particular figures that he shines.
Likewise, each one invited to this weird party is quite a find. Mainly because they are all caricatures of figures from our world, whether with the machismo activist youtuber who lives with his mother or the influencer who lives on controversy and who complains that nothing can be said anymore these days.
In this sense, Between Knives and Secrets 2 delivers a script as good as the first film, hitting the hand in humor by presenting these skits with great dialogues and situations that are beautiful pinpoints. The film plays very well with politicians hiding at parties during the pandemic, conspiracy theories, denialism and even how big billionaires take advantage of all of this to leverage their businesses.
But none of these nudges appear in the form of pedantic speech or under moralizing banners. Rather, they are subtle nudges that just give these characters more humanity and make everything that much more interesting. For this very reason, the first half of the plot is the most interesting, as it uses all of this to build each of these personalities while presenting the said mystery.
The authentic glass onion
So, in the end, what we have is precisely this film that presents itself with many layers and elements for you to observe, but which has no secret. Not that it’s obvious, but it seems to get too carried away with wrapping this intricate mystery to the point of not being able to unravel it in any other way than by being expository.
This causes Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is very entertaining for its good script and performances, but it ends with that feeling that something is missing — and it is. Despite all the twists and turns it takes, it ends up not being the investigation it promised.
In the end, the mystery was just an excuse to get these characters together in one place. Like that glass onion, something that presents itself as something much more complex than it really is.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is one of the main premieres of December and can be watched on Netflix??
