Weekend Watch: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical
Crime solving and kids singing
Image Credit: Netflix
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, Daniel Craig suspects more foul play and a Roald Dahl character stirs up a smart rebellion. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite
2019’s Knives Out was a real treat – a murder mystery with a delightful Daniel Craig performance at its core, his southern-fried accent and quick-witted performance anchoring a film that also allowed Ana de Armas to shine.
While that film was set at a frosty Massachusetts estate where the combative family of a wealthy novelist scrap over his will when he’s found dead, Glass Onion, the follow-up which only features Craig’s detective Benoit Blanc, sees him heading to the much warmer climes of Greece, and the secluded, exclusive island of billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton).
The tech guru has invited a group of close friends to take part in a murder mystery game. The guests are all a group of influencers and “personalities”, including politician Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn), fashion icon Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson), scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr.), Duke Cody and (Dave Bautista). Also along for the trip? Andi Brand (Janelle Monáe) Miles’ former business partner, Peg (Jessica Henwick), Birdie’s stressed assistant and Whiskey (Madelyn Cline), Duke’s girlfriend and fellow Twitch user/YouTuber.
Though Knives Out cast was loaded with oddball personalities, Glass Onion ratchets that up another level: some of these people act more like cartoons rather than people. Though Johnson manages to keep the story moving along.
Glass Onion doesn’t quite challenge the first film in the narrative stakes either, but it’s certainly an entertaining affair, Craig given the lion’s share of character development this time. You’ll spend some time figuring out the mystery at the heart of it, which is enjoyable, if a little more lightweight than that outing.
Johnson and has team load the film down with little touches that make a second mission for Benoit Blanc worth watching – just don’t go expecting the same experience as last time. Which, after all, is the point, right? And if you’re somewhere where the weather has turned cold and frosty or raining, it’s a burst of bright sunshine in the deep midwinter.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is on Netflix now.
Image Credit: Netflix
I have a special place in my heart for Roald Dahl – dodgy viewpoints notwithstanding, to be filed under “art not artist” on my mental wellbeing server – as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and its sequel, Charlie And The Great Glass Elevator were my favourite books growing up, ones I read so often they fell apart and had to be replaced at least once.
Matilda wasn’t on the same level for me, but I did enjoy Danny DeVito’s 1996 film adaptation. Now, though, the movie version of the Tim Minchin/Matthew Warchus stage musical has arrived, and it’s even more entertaining.
The same basic story unspools here: young genius Matilda (Alisha Weir) is lumbered with dreadful parents (played to huge and grotesque comic effect by Steven Graham and Andrea Riseborough, both clearly having the time of their lives away from their usual drama beat) and packed off for schooling to Crunchem Hall, ruled over by the imposing, terrifying Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson).
Though Matilda is excited to be learning, she’s soon confronted with Trunchbull’s teaching style which is, shall we say, rather focused towards physical education more than anything else, fortunately, our young hero finds an ally in Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch), who soon figures out quite bright she is.
While the film is perhaps a little longer than it needed to be and not every moment hits the way it might, and not every song is, as the kids today say, a banger, there are some winners to be found.
Performance-wise, the cast is great across the board. Thompson, aided by prosthetics and a suit, is the ideal snarly villain, while Weir is a sprightly, relatable heroine. MVP for me was Lynch, who between Captain Marvel, No Time To Die, The Woman King, Ear For Eye and now this, proves she really, truly can do anything.
Warchus stages the dramatic scenes and the music with aplomb and it’s all jolly enough to keep you having fun through it.
Matilda will be on Netflix in the US on 25 December. A Sing-Along version is in UK cinemas from 1 January and will hit UK Netflix in the summer of 2023.
PUBLISHING NOTE: I will be taking a break from the column for a week (possibly two, depending on release schedules). Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, all!