Rian Johnson Cast [Redacted] As Benoit Blanc's [Redacted] In Glass Onion Because It Brought Him 'The Most Joy'
Warning: this post contains major spoilers for "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery."
The landscape of mainstream queer representation is a weird one. On one hand, we've gotten a mid-budget gay romcom in "Bros," but on the other, we're still scraping the bottom of the barrel for representation in major Hollywood franchises. At best, the representation is kept to an aggressive minimum, and at worst, it's attempting to erase all distinct elements of queerness that make it different from heterosexuality. This is often why you see Marvel projects touting their inclusion of an LGBTQ character, only for them to not even be a real character in the final product.
However, this isn't the case with Rian Johnson's burgeoning "Knives Out" series, whose second entry "Glass Onion" has arrived in theaters for a limited engagement. In the film, we get a lowkey, yet still important reveal about the franchise's main character, private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). It is shown that he is a gay man and in a happy, albeit quirky relationship with a baker named Phillip (Hugh Grant). The latter is briefly seen calling for the detective, who has been in a rut without a steady string of mysteries to solve.
So, how did this brief but important development come about? According to Johnson, who spoke with /Film's Vanessa Armstrong in a recent interview, it all came down to personal preference.
'I think it's pretty joyful'
In order to open the right curtain onto Benoit Blanc's personal life, Rian Johnson said that he had to think deeply about who he envisioned the world's greatest detective to be with. Who would he, as an outsider, want to see as Blanc's partner?
"I wanted that person to be the person who brings me just the most joy at the thought of Benoit Blanc being with," he explained. "When we cast that part, we got exactly who I was hoping we would get, and I think it's pretty joyful."
Needless to say, the de-facto British romcom king is a pretty great choice for such a role. Hugh Grant just naturally has the charm and demeanor to pull off these intriguing love interests. To make him a baker on top of it, judging by his apron and what is clearly flour wiped on his forehead, will make you fall in love with Phillip despite his minimal screen time.
There isn't a ton about the couple's dynamic shown in the film, but it is clear that they have an intimate understanding of each other. During their "Among Us" Zoom game, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar remarks to Blanc that Phillip had complained to him about the detective's time holing up in the bathroom, something that he rebuffs to no avail. It's not meant to be a cruel jab, but rather, a common domestic annoyance between the two of them. It's something that all couples, straight or gay, experience in their partnership.
Why it matters
Representation by itself is nothing special. In fact, acting like the mere existence of an LGBTQ character in a piece of media is all it takes is reductive at best. For representation to truly matter, these characters must feel like real, nuanced individuals that exist both outside of and because of their identity. It is not their defining character trait, but it is still present enough to where it influences how they interact with the world around them.
While Phillip is still a blank slate (which could be alleviated in the third "Knives Out" movie Netflix commissioned from Rian Johnson), his detective partner certainly is not. More than just a southern private eye, he's a funny and nuanced individual who always keeps his suspects and the audience on their toes — who expected him to be belting out "Follies" in the first film? What could first be theorized as typical southern exaggerations in "Knives Out" have now been definitively recontextualized as flamboyant queerness in "Glass Onion." Benoit Blanc can now join the esteemed legions of folks like the nearly-departed Leslie Jordan, whose delightful sensibilities effortlessly weave into his queerness so seamlessly, it poses the question "is he gay or just Southern." Luckily for us, the answer is "both."
Benoit Blanc being an explicitly gay man leading a major franchise really highlights how bizarre mainstream LGBTQ representation in film really is. Many queer characters are often relegated to supporting roles small enough to cut out if needed, and if they are leads, their identities are tossed to the wayside (looking at you, Loki and Harley Quinn). A character like Blanc, whose queerness is visible from multiple aspects and not just through his relationship with Phillip, has simply not been seen in our supposed "height" of LGBTQ representation.
"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" will be in theaters for two more days before arriving on Netflix on December 23.