AN ELEMENTARY TEACHER TAKES AN OBSESSIVE FRAUD TO SCHOOL IN 'GLASS ONION'.
It stands to reason that Writer-Director Rian Johnson, a devoted fan of Agatha Christie, would have a gift for excellent mysteries. His incredible Knives Out franchise proves his devotion to the fascinating genre: mystery. I love a good mystery. Both Knives Out films deliver. His Poirot-like detective, Benoit Blanc, bears a genuine gift of sniffing out the truth through a series of unusual investigative techniques. Though the two films appear to be mirror images of each other, that's not entirely a bad thing. The world could use more of Rian Johnson's unique, challenging mind. I, for one, welcome it. Simply put, Blanc is the kind of genius that any underdog, regardless of race and class, would be happy to have as an ally.
The adventures of Glass Onion take him to Greece where he finds himself uncomfortably unwelcome. Awkward is an unnatural look on the otherwise confident sleuth. What we must remember is that he is not an awkward man. He is instead a brilliant and devoted detective. He loves his cases. He loves his work.
Greece may prove to be his most challenging case yet where he finds a case within a case within a case. It’s case-ception. At the heart of it is a despicable man who would go out of his way to ruin the lives of everyone around him. Certainly, end them too. All to protect his ill-gotten billion-dollar fortune that he “earned” off the backs of his inner circle.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Myles Bron is defined as "genius" by all of his friends. In reality, he is a genius in one way. Only as a master manipulator, he can worm his way into people's minds, motivating them, with his ideas, obsessions, and lies. Most of all, he drives them with his money. As long as they gain from his power, they will vouch for him in horrible ways. Until suddenly, they find he's put lives at stake. As dangerous as it is, manipulation is a work of genius and not to be taken lightly.
However, Myles is also vain, arrogant, greedy, and extremely unsubtle. In fact, he loves having an unexpected guest because it gives him the chance to brag all day to a fresh set of ears. It is Blanc's easiest interrogation.
These are traits that lead to his downfall because they give him away to the objective eye of outsider Benoit Blanc. Johnson hides the truth of his fraud in plain sight: Myles' shameless lack of subtlety. He even admits to Blanc that he pays other famous experts for the puzzle boxes and the mystery game. No part of that weekend or his home is a product of his mind. All because he has no ideas of his own.
In all my experience, a narcissist conducting fraud is one of their most offensive and frustrating infractions against their victims. Still, Myles makes standard fraud look downright benign as he mocks the memory of his brilliant former partner, Andi.
ALIBI OR SOMETHING MORE?
The murder mystery weekend on his secluded private island in Greece. What could be more exciting? Plenty. And they all beg the experience to be Myles-free. Otherwise, his childish need for attention will suck the joy out of the room. His behavior throughout the weekend in question takes the cake, and his entourage hates every second of it. Hence, their desire to leave the island as soon as possible. It’s not the ruined mystery that puts everyone into such a rotten mood. It’s Myles and his reckless decisions that puts their careers in danger.
But it gets worse. Myles’ behavior goes beyond endangerment because lives are already lost. There is no end to the amount of destruction he is willing to leave behind in order to launch his precious fuel, including murder. Two lives ended and one more attempt. Meanwhile, he doesn’t feel an ounce of remorse over it.
Instead, it’s one more opportunity to play the victim and demand more attention onto himself. It’s clear his “murder mystery” weekend is meant to cover his tracks. He sets up his usual get-together with all his usual invites, including his victim, to make himself look innocent. How could anyone suspect him of killing Andi if he didn’t know she was dead? He invited her to his island, after all.
There’s more to it than a simple alibi. In true fraudulent narcissist fashion, he set up his own playful mystery party to steal the thunder and attention that a murder brings. He plays the victim in the most despicable way. Not once but twice. Each impersonation directly follows a real murder. First, he pretends to be murdered after poisoning Andi as a sick joke. The second time occurs moments after killing -- again with poison. Once again, he plays the victim to keep the blame off of him while accusing his own friends of attempted murder of him. Never mind the dead body on the floor as long as Myles meets his insatiable need for attention.
Delusion and arrogance run strong in the personality disorder, which Myles has in spades. Indeed, this is a dangerous mix. Myles allows Blanc to stay for the weekend under the assumption that his prepaid mystery is too clever for the famous detective. Pathetic. Even Blanc solving the mystery game is ultimately for show, his performance does suggest his enjoyment in proving Myles wrong. He owns that game and wins that iPad.
More importantly, he happily solves the case hiding beneath the game. Peeling back the layers of the intricate onion represented in Myles’ “rich asshole house”, an idea also stolen from Andi’s past. None of these secrets, puzzles, and clues elude true genius. Blanc exposes all of it.
Simply put, Blanc the real genius that Myles wishes he could emulate. He solves all murders, real and fake, but he also provides Helen with the guidance to exact proper justice against the undeserving billionaire. Sweet, satisfying justice. For a narcissist like Myles, image is everything, as are name and reputation. He makes that goal abundantly clear.
"I want be responsible for something that gets talked about in the same breath as the Mona Lisa." (Myles Bron)
Be careful what you wish for. Because you just might get it. For two angry people whose job it becomes to research you inside out, they were happy to oblige. Helen gives Myles the one thing he wants most with the guidance of Benoit Blanc. In that one extravagant weekend, they burn his life to the ground.
They all try to warn him that his obsession is dangerous. Intelligent people listen. They keep an open mind. Idiots like Myles don't. They get an idea in their heads and can't let go. The only way to teach them is the hard way. Let's not forget. Helen is a teacher and a fine one too.
It is not easy to teach a lesson to a narcissist, but she does it. With style and flare. More importantly, she teaches the world how dangerous Klear, this psychotic obsession of Myles, can be. It doesn't much matter if Myles learned his lesson. He loses everything anyway. The world, on the other hand, has a fighting chance. That's what matters.
Andi and Helen Brand save the world from Myles Bron. God bless the underdogs.
