"Glass Onion" (2022)

One of the most satisfying moments in Glass Onion comes when Benoit Blanc realizes he has been making the same mistake as everyone else. He has assumed that Miles Bron is a genius. That assumption drives the entire film. The politicians, entrepreneurs, celebrities, and influencers who orbit Miles all believe they are in the presence of extraordinary intelligence. Every bizarre statement is treated as wisdom. Every bad idea is reinterpreted as innovation. Every contradiction becomes evidence of a deeper strategy that ordinary people simply cannot understand. But as the mystery unfolds, a different picture emerges. Miles is not a mastermind hiding layers of complexity beneath the surface. He is a mediocre man surrounded by people who have too much invested in his success to tell the truth.

The title itself points in this direction. An onion suggests layers waiting to be uncovered. A glass onion only appears to have layers. It is transparent from the beginning. The answer is sitting in plain sight. The real mystery is not why people cannot see it. The real mystery is why they refuse to see it. Augustine would not have been surprised. One of Augustine's great insights is that our loves shape our perception. We do not simply see reality as it is. We see reality through the lens of what we desire. When our loves become disordered, our vision becomes distorted. We begin protecting the things we love instead of evaluating them honestly.

That is exactly what happens in Glass Onion. The people around Miles need him to be brilliant. Their careers, reputations, and fortunes depend on it. Admitting the truth would mean admitting that they have built their lives around an illusion. It is easier to keep believing. In this sense, the film is not primarily about wealth. It is about idolatry.

The Old Testament often mocks idols because they possess no power of their own. The worshiper creates the illusion. A block of wood becomes a god because people choose to treat it as one. The idol survives only as long as people continue investing it with meaning and authority. Miles functions much the same way. His power comes not from wisdom but from the willingness of others to believe in his wisdom. He is a false god sustained by collective devotion. What makes the film so effective is that it exposes a temptation that extends far beyond billionaires and technology culture. Human beings have always been prone to creating idols. We attach ourselves to leaders, movements, institutions, and personalities. We convince ourselves they possess qualities they do not actually have. Then we defend the illusion because we have become dependent on it.

The great irony of Glass Onion is that the truth is visible almost from the beginning. The problem is not a lack of evidence. The problem is a lack of willingness to see. That may be the film's most important insight. The greatest obstacle to truth is often not ignorance. It is attachment. When our hearts become invested in a lie, even the obvious can become invisible.