Among the most talked-about “moments” from Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion, the latest edition to the Knives Out “saga,” isn’t so much a moment as a revelation toward the midpoint of the film. One spurred by the sight of Phillip (Hugh Grant) answering the door to Benoit Blanc’s (Daniel Craig) abode wearing an apron and with his face covered in flour. It can only confirm one thing, of course: Blanc is gay. Gay! (as Brittany Murphy would say in Drop Dead Gorgeous). And that his domestic partner is the reluctant cook between the two of them. Or maybe he’s only taking on that role at present while Blanc endures a lockdown depression that finds him spending most of his time in the bath (a piece of intelligence Phillip gives to Blanc’s quartet of Zoom-relegated friends, Angela Lansbury, Stephen Sondheim, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Natasha Lyonne). Whatever the case may be, Phillip answering the door to Helen Brand (Janelle Monáe) in an apron is enough of a “subtle implication” to cement Blanc’s sexuality in the viewer’s mind.
Less subtle, many have argued, was a scene at the beginning of Glass Onion, when those invited to Miles Bron’s (Edward Norton) private island, including Andi (also Janelle Monáe), Claire (Kathryn Hahn), Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr.), Birdie (Kate Hudson) and Duke (Dave Bautista), have an instant gagging reaction to getting a mysterious spray spritzed into their mouth after being told by Miles’ stoic assistant (Ethan Hawke), “Remove your masks and extend your tongue. This will only be momentarily uncomfortable.” Suggestive, to be sure. And it is uncomfortable for everyone. Everyone, that is, except Benoit. Who is only too ready to receive with aplomb after the others choke on whatever the hell was in that spray gun (an exclusive batch of the vaccine just for rich people, one imagines). This, along with his “fabulous” wardrobe (seemingly inspired by Fred Jones from Scooby-Doo) and immunity to over-the-top flirtations from Birdie, are the stereotypical aspects of Being Gay that we’re meant to note in Benoit. And while they might be more “humorous” in the hands of an actually gay actor, with Craig embodying the “trait,” more sensitive viewers will likely be asking themselves the question that’s been posed repeatedly over the past several years: is it ever really “okay” for a straight to play gay? The answer varies depending on who one talks to, and has become a great source of contention vis-à-vis the very Art of Acting.
In recent years, it’s found the likes of Darren Criss and even bisexual Kristen Stewart (who defended Mackenzie Davis’ portrayal of her lesbian girlfriend in Happiest Season) in hot water. Indeed, Criss announced in 2018 that he would no longer take on gay roles, despite Ryan Murphy clearly having no problem with casting him in them (along with Evan Peters). Of his decision, he specifically noted, “I want to make sure I won’t be another straight boy taking a gay man’s role.” Craig and Grant (who noticeably have first names as last names), in contrast, don’t seem to take issue with such a thing. Both British men, perhaps their inherent “flair” for the twee and fey is something they consider a “natural fit” for possessing homo cachet. The same method of “thinking” appeared to take hold of fellow Brit James Corden when he played a gay role in The Prom, a performance that was branded as being “gayface.” Those who offer the “an actor can play any role if they’re good enough” defense aren’t open to considering that it’s not about “good enough,” so much as it is about representation. That one simple yet long word that has become politicized to the nth degree in the era that has followed the post-#MeToo reckoning in Hollywood.
Johnson himself being a straight man might also have something to do with the lack of consideration, for, as noted in an article from Refinery29, “Representation and authenticity are inherently impacted by… off-camera positions. The people in higher positions are the ones who can enact actual change.” Johnson, ostensibly, didn’t want to enact that change by casting a bona fide gay man in Benoit’s role. Although it’s not totally clear if Johnson always had this aspect of Benoit’s character “sorted” from the get-go, based on the fact that there was no attempt on his part to be a sleazeball in Knives Out in terms of trying to “romance” Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), one can buy that the “gay streak” was there all along. It just got ramped up in Glass Onion (particularly with Benoit’s flamboyant manner of dressing, another gay cliché). Blame Covid causing everyone to let their guard down, do away with airs, etc. Of course, if this were a Bond movie, he would be trying to get Andi/Helen’s knickers off within the first ten minutes of her introduction. And maybe even would have surrendered to Birdie’s “charms,” to boot.
Instead, he seems more engaged by the sight of Duke’s very large pistol, especially when he sees that he even wears it while swimming, lasciviously commenting, “That is quite a piece.” Another innuendo occurs when Phillip remarks of Helen showing up at the door, “Blanc, there’s someone here for you. With a box”—the word “box” said with a mix of incredulity and slight disgust, as we all know gay men are more scandalized by pussy than even straight ones.
Though straight men playing homo characters is nothing new, it’s become less and less “brushed aside” by viewers, even hetero ones. Which is why it’s somewhat surprising to find that little backlash has come to roost for Craig, Grant or Johnson regarding Benoit’s unveiled sexuality (of which Johnson noted that he “obviously is” gay). With some even going so far as to write, “Benoit Blanc is definitely obviously gay. And we love that for us.” Do we, though? Because the word “obviously” connotes that a straight portrayal of gay often tends to veer toward too obvious a.k.a. parody.
Another prime example of two straights playing it gay came in the form of 2017’s Call Me By Your Name. With Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer (before his cannibal fetish came to light and he was banished) as Elio and Oliver, respectively, the movie was praised to the extent of being Academy Award-nominated. The same went for another earlier mainstream example of forbidden gay boy love: 2005’s Brokeback Mountain. But these were both films that arrived in theaters before Hollywood was officially supposed to “know better” (2017 truly being the last cutoff point for anything non-politically correct flying past the proverbial censors, though Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci didn’t get the message, as evidenced by 2020’s Supernova).
While Benoit’s sexuality is presented more as a “comical footnote” in Glass Onion, that’s part of what makes it all the more problematic. And begs the question: how have Craig and Grant managed to slip past the Representation Patrol, while others, such as Scarlett Johansson, have been venomously condemned for even thinking of playing an LGBTQIA+ role? What’s more, it rarely seems to cut both ways with regard to a gay actor’s chance of playing a straight role. As Jasmine Johnson, an SVP of Development at Crypt TV said, “I do not feel like queer actors are given the same opportunity to play roles outside of their queerness that straight actors are given. I don’t want someone to tell me that I can only write stories that are whatever they have deemed my signifiers are… [but] we are not in the sort of world or society yet where there is equal representation, where there is equal opportunity, where all people understand what it’s like to struggle with your gender identity or sexuality.”
Rupert Everett echoed some of Johnson’s sentiments when he stated in 2010 that, after coming out, “his opportunities dried up. He said the movie business is ‘a very heterosexual business’ that’s ‘run mostly by heterosexual men’ and lamented that straight actors taking gay roles has a stifling effect on gay actors who, like him, are no longer considered.” The likes of Craig and Grant, however, can frequently swing both ways unchecked (Grant having also previously played a repressed gay man in Maurice and a caricature of a gay man in The Gentlemen). As the general delight (thus far) over Benoit Blanc being gay has shown.
