Miles Bron is a combination of a lot of rich people we all hate—not love to hate, just genuinely hate. Given the timing of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery‘s release, many were comparing Edward Norton’s performance as Bron to Elon Musk despite the fact that the movie doesn’t really point fingers at Musk. If anything, it is more telling on those watching the film that they instantly think of Musk, given that Bron’s character is just someone who is a false tech god.
But it is also clear that there are references to other famous bad billionaires in the movie. To be clear, I hate all billionaires, especially the bad ones. And while the easy comparison to Bron is Musk for his actions and his lack of intelligence despite masquerading himself as a genius, another grifter got a specific reference in Bron’s arc in Glass Onion.
I’m talking about Elizabeth Holmes. The former CEO of Theranos Inc., known for committing fraud and for Amanda Seyfried doing an incredibly spot-on impression of her, Holmes famously pushed technology that did not work (much like Bron), so when Miles Bron is proving his “innocence” in the case against his former partner Andi (Janelle Monáe), he’s holding up a napkin laying out “his” idea, in a picture wearing a black turtleneck.
In the film, Bron wants to bring a new kind of energy to the masses, but because he has … well, no actual skills, he doesn’t realize he is basically making houses into bombs with this idea. Andi tells him no, and it results in Bron trying to get Andi out of the company despite it all being her idea. She tells the truth but cannot find the napkin she wrote the idea for Alpha Industries on back during their time at the Glass Onion, so Miles just writes it down on his own random napkin and claims he found it and it is his idea.
He poses on magazines with it and everything. You know who also did a similar thing with their own grift? Elizabeth Holmes. So when a fan pointed out the comparison, Norton responded on Twitter with the true reference photo they used.
“Well-spotted but our reference photo was actually this one,” Norton posted. He went on to say it “took a lot of tries to get that weird ‘crossed eye while trying to project seriousness’ just right!”
What’s the deal with the napkin vs. the vial of blood?
Well, they’re both grifts turned bad. Holmes made people believe the health care she was pushing would help them when the reality is that it was nothing and it was fake. Same with Bron and his energy scheme and his entire deal. He just constantly stole ideas from other people and couldn’t follow through on them, and the comparisons between Bron and other billionaires are endless.
What’s so funny about this moment is that the Holmes picture has been memed/become so iconic that it was easy to point out that this was a comparison. But Norton pointing out which picture they used as a reference? Hilarious. The layers of Glass Onion (pun intended) continue to show just how much thought went into every aspect of these characters and the movie as a whole.
Would I love if Seyfried’s Holmes and Norton’s Bron met together in a piece of media? Absolutely. They can be in the inevitable movie about Elon Musk taking over Twitter and losing a poll so he left as CEO.
(featured image: Netflix)
