Ahead of the cinematic release of Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the director made headlines for his comments about Benoit Blanc.
On stage at a press conference during the London Film Festival, Johnson was asked whether a specific scene confirms that Daniel Craig’s character was queer – to which he replied: "Yes, he obviously is."
The claim was met by lots of celebration/cheers online, but also with a healthy amount of skepticism as people suggested that Rian might be queerbaiting his audiences.
To be honest, we don’t have time (or patience) to break down the merits of whether or not ‘queerbaiting’ is a useful term in 2022. The idea has been weaponised and recontextualised a lot in the past few years and has, in our opinion, started to lose some of its value.
It is understandable though, given the recent backpatting from major film studios, that LGBTQ+ audiences would be wary of immediately taking Johnson at his word.
The director might be happy to wave the rainbow flag publicly, but would his film actually have anything to say about the character’s sexuality?
But now, with Glass Onion now available to watch on Netflix globally, we’re happy to say that the answer to whether Benny is gay remains: "Yes, he obviously is."
Benoit’s sexuality is confirmed, very strongly, at the start of the film in the scene Johnson was asked about during LFF.
That scene comes in the form of a husband reveal, and that husband is Hugh Grant. To clarify: you do not live with a middle-aged Hugh Grant if you’re not gay, and Hugh Grant certainly doesn’t know that you haven’t left the bath in weeks if you’re not gay.
Still, as cut and dry as we might see it, there are still some viewers who don’t fully buy that Benoit living with the ultimate rom-com lead is a strong enough signifier. They raise the point that this scene, brief as it is, could potentially be cut or changed for international markets (as we’ve seen Disney do in the past).
It’s a completely rational concern, but it’s also worth remembering that Netflix currently has no historical precedent for doing so, and has seemingly ignored requests to remove LGBTQ+ content from specific countries.
We also obviously can’t speak to any individual’s true feelings, but we’d be very surprised if Rian Johnson, a director whose films are notably (and famously) progressive in their politics, would let this slide without comment.
We’d also like to point out two more things. Benoit’s sexuality might not come up directly (ie there’s no steamy Craig-Grant rendezvous) in any other part of the film, but that doesn’t mean it's inconsequential. Specifically, it’s used to shine a light on Kate Hudson’s Birdie and hint to the audience just how oblivious she is.
Throughout the movie there’s a recurring gag where she hits on Benoit, much to his confusion, misconstruing his meaning, both in action and word. The best example of this is when he basically suggests she could have committed murder and might pose a danger, to which she bats her eyelids and says, seductively, “Are you saying I’m dangerous, Mr Blanc?” like a 1950s femme fatale.
It’s very funny, and crucially, literally only makes sense as a scene if the audience understands that Benoit was eyeing up Dave Bautista’s pistol in the pool not 15 minutes prior.
In this way, Johnson plays a deft hand. He confirms Benoit’s sexuality, making it not a big deal, but also does so in a plot-relevant way that doesn’t feel shoehorned in or like its pandering.
All this is to say that any accusation of ‘queerbaiting’ on Johnson’s part feels undercooked and short-sighted. Especially given the director’s track record when it comes to social issues in his films.
While we’re at it, we can’t deny that we were over the moon to see James Bond himself playing a happily gay character. Need we remind you of the truly iconic allyship that Daniel Craig performs on the regular? (And no, we don’t just mean being married to Rachel Weisz.)
All of this analysis is also funny, because if you’d asked any gay viewers whether they got a vibe from Benoit at any point in this movie they’d probably roll their eyes. Blanc’s whole personality is a sort of performative southern dandy, which is the biggest giveaway in the world if you’ve ever interacted with a gay man over the the age of 50.
This vibe also obviously extends to his fashion, from his many many cravats (which are adorable) to the matching salmon shirt and mask.
Benoit’s sense of style is undeniably flamboyant, certainly more so than his autumnal wardrobe in the first movie, and while there’s certainly no single way that LGBTQ+ people dress, it’s not a massive leap to think that the character is making deliberate choices when he, for example, dons an excellent blue-striped co-ord to go for a dip in the pool.
At the end of the day, Benoit Blanc is definitely obviously gay. And we love that for us.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is available to stream now on Netflix.
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