Rian Johnson came out with a murder mystery called Knives Out in 2019 that has since developed quite the fan following. The premise of the film centered around the Drysdale family as their Patriarch (Christopher Plummer) is murdered and Mr. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is anonymously hired to solve the case. The film took us through an enormous ride of ups and downs. The film had great set-ups and pay offs as almost everything from the very start of the film was somehow connected to the murder. The success of the original film spawned not one but two sequels, one is the topic of our discussion today aka Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, while the other is in development at Netflix. The sequel has gotten great reviews almost better than the original. In fact, a lot of critics has hailed the sequel to be better than Knives Out.
When a film is a part of a series, the comparison is inevitable. However, after watching the film I can say that the ones that those people are wrong. Glass Onion is not better than Knives Out. That being said, it is a good film that you should definitely check out. If you have seen it then you realize that the film isn’t necessarily a sequel. It is more like a spin-off. Where one character from the original has been retained but a completely different story has been told. Another thing that stands out in the sequel is the artifact of Mona Lisa. The revered painting which has almost god like status featured in Glass Onion and it had more to do then just to be in the background. So, was Rian Johnson trying to signify something with the Mona Lisa? Here is the director himself explaining Mona Lisa’s inclusion in Glass Onion.
Rian Johnson Explains The Significance of The Mona Lisa In Glass Onion!
While speaking to The Wrap, Rian Johnson explained the significance the Mona Lisa in the sequel as there was much focus on the revered artifact than just a few gags. Johnson revealed that the most meaning that the artifact carries is revealed in the final shot of Glass Onion that features the Mona Lisa as that is what gives meaning to the film and consequently explains why the artifact was such an important part of the sequel. This is what Rian Johnson had to say about the Mona Lisa:
“That kind of gelled fairly early, the connection between the two of them and also the notion of seeing something and then squinting a little closer and seeing something different was baked into the structure of it. I had a great conversation with [“Everything Everywhere All at Once” filmmaking duo] the Daniels recently and they’re also big structural writers, and they put it in a really beautiful way, they say the meaning of the movie is contained within the movie’s structure. And to me this is very much reflecting that, and everything Edward says when he’s talking about the Mona Lisa, in front of everybody, suddenly fusing that up to this character of Helen at the end. And you know, she burned the Mona Lisa but the Mona Lisa lives on in Helen.”
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery may look like an extremely expensive film but the sequel is being made in the same budget like the original- $40 Million. Considering the hype and the success of the original, my bet is that Glass Onion would highly successful. The sequel just like the original has an amazing cast. With Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc at the center of affairs, the supporting cast of the film includes Edward Norton, Madelyn Cline, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monáe, and Ethan Hawke.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will premier on Netflix this year, on 23rd December 2022 after completing its run in select theatres.
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