Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story is many things. It’s a mystery, it’s an Agatha Christie-style whodunit, it’s a comedy — but above all, it’s an ensemble character piece brimming with complex and charming (if mostly terrible) people. It’s on the strength of those performances that this now bonafide film franchise continues to elevate itself.
Two of the breakout stars this time around are Jessica Henwick who plays Peg, the beleaguered assistant to Kate Hudson’s politically tone-deaf influencer Birdie Jay, and Madelyn Cline, who stars as Whiskey, girlfriend to Dave Bautista’s manosphere influencer-inspired Duke Cody. In other films, these characters might have been one-dimensional side players, but in Glass Onion they’re given dimension. That makes perfect sense, of course, as audiences always have to keep their eyes on every character, because you never know who might be a red herring — or about to be caught red-handed. If some characters seem less important or developed, they could easily be ruled out as suspects.
Glass Onion sees Henwick and Cline’s characters joining their counterparts for a weekend away on a Greek Island, home to Edward Norton’s character, Miles Bron, who’s invited them to stage an elaborate murder mystery. When a real death occurs, however, there’s plenty of suspicion to spread around among the group of erstwhile “friends”.
Courtesy of Netflix
For those seeking to solve the mystery before it unfolds (good luck with that!), the keys lie in the complex relationships between the characters, such as that between Birdie Jay and Peg. “I see them as an old married couple,” Henwick tells PRIDE. “I think they love each other. They can’t live without one another, but they hate that they can’t live without one another. They’re super codependent. In my head, they’ve been working together for about 10 years. And Peg has probably quit more than 10 times in those years. And just comes back to work the next day, and neither of them mentions it at all. That captures the relationship for me.”
Courtesy of Netflix
Cline’s character Whiskey’s relationship with her onscreen paramour Duke is no less complicated. So was the inspiration for the character itself. “I kind of just pulled inspiration like little bite-sized pieces from people I’ve met, people I’ve watched from people watching, influencers that I’ve met, or seen. I did some YouTube research,” Cline tells PRIDE. “ I also did a lot of research into people that kind of reminded me of the way Duke was written before I met Dave (Bautista)’s Duke because I felt like that would also inform a lot of who Whiskey is or portrays herself to be.”
Courtesy of Netflix
What’s not so complicated is the real-life friendship the co-stars formed while filming. Henwick and Cline both fondly recall having sleepovers during production. “Jess and I would go to the local bakery in Greece and we would basically pick out one of everything,” revealed Cline. “Then we would drive back to Jess’s house and we would have gin and tonics. watch the sunset and then do movie nights... sleepovers!”
With the film set for release this week, both actors are excited for fans to finally get their eyes on Glass Onion — but especially their families. “I’m so excited for my parents to see it,” says Cline. “It was so funny. I invited them to come to the premiere in L.A. but they already bought tickets. So they’re like, ‘Well, we already spent money on the ticket. So, no,’” she laughs. “They’re so funny.”
Emilio Madrid/Netflix
“Everyone that I was really excited to watch [it] came to the premieres,” recalls Cline. “But I’m excited to rewatch it at Christmas when it comes to Netflix. That’s how I saw the first one. I went to the cinema with my friends and then I took it home. And that Christmas, I said to my parents, you have to watch this film. It’s so good.”
Thankfully the sequel lives up to that hype too.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story premieres in theaters November 23 and on Netflix December 23. Watch PRIDE’s full interview with Jessica Henwick and Madelyn Cline below.
