Spoilers for Glass Onion ahead!
Glass Onion has become a massive hit for Netflix as millions of fans watch and rewatch the murder mystery film. Much of this came courtesy of Janelle Monáe’s dual performance as Andi and Helen Brand. The big reveal of Helen recruiting Benoit Blanc and playing her deceased twin to solve Andi’s murder threw many viewers for a loop. That is because they couldn’t tell Andi wasn’t Andi until the big twist. While many viewers were surprised, Monáe revealed there’s a subtle hint people may have missed in telling it was Helen not Andi at Miles Born’s murder mystery getaway.
Watching the Netflix murder mystery had many fans guessing how could you tell the women apart outside of Helen’s first appearance and Alabama accent. Monáe did an excellent job of making Helen mimic Andi without drawing any suspicion (outside of Miles, of course). While viewers and the other characters were clueless right up until the final act, the Grammy-nominated singer spilled to Variety the subtle way they and director Rian Johnson distinguished the twins.
Helen's wig is something Rian and I talked about. When she's acting as Andi, and nobody knows it's her, the parting of her hair is on the opposite side. The idea is that she is a mirror image of her sister.
Well, that tidbit makes you want to go back and look at the mystery comedy once again to spot the difference. This played into the women being actual identical twins. Helen and Andi were so different that having a subtle difference in hairstyles makes sense. Helen was an Alabama elementary school teacher living a simple life. On the other hand, Andi was a trendy big-tech jetsetter whose style and demeanor matched the corporate setting of New York. Of course, the twins shared the ability to use the rich bitch accent, which made the switcheroo even more believable.
Monáe gave another hint at the difference between Helen and Andi’s hairstyles. She mentioned the Alabama schoolteacher’s hair “wasn’t going to be as perfect as” her tech-savant sister. Helen had to cut her hair and wear a wig to mimic her deceased twin’s trendy New York style. The difference even extended to their eyebrows with Helen’s being thicker in contrast to Andi’s more professionally groomed ones.
Monáe’s performance as the Brand twins has garnered them much acclaim from critics and viewers. They’ve scored multiple nominations this awards season as Best Supporting Actress, including National Board of Review, Critic’s Choice, NAACP Image, and Satellite Awards. There’s also a bit of Oscar buzz surrounding the multihyphenate with Academy Award nominations just weeks away.
Janelle Monáe hasn’t been resting on their laurels as they gear up to star as the iconic activist and dancer Josephine Baker in an upcoming miniseries. While we wait for that, if you want to see why Monáe’s dual performance is garnering so much buzz, just get a Netflix subscription to watch Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery sans the axed post-credit scene.
