Wake Up Dead Man Review: Praise Be
Ken Jones, OnScreen Blog Chief Film Critic
I’ve been a fan of director Rian Johnson’s movies for nearly 20 years now. I’ve also been a fan of cleverly crafted whodunits, too. So the Knives Out franchise, which he has crafted with Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc, has been highly satisfying and highly entertaining. Their latest chapter in this burgeoning franchise is an entry with real emotional and spiritual weight, which I was not expecting. But that is what Wake Up Dead Man brings to the table.
Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) is a priest sent to an upstate church with a dwindling congregation, but the remaining members are loyal followers of the charismatic zealot Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Fr. Jud and Mons. Wicks have clashing styles, which comes under increased scrutiny and suspicion when Wicks dies under mysterious circumstances on Good Friday. The local police call in a favor for assistance in the form of Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), the most renowned detective in the world, to help solve what he dubs the perfect crime.
These Knives Out movies, in addition to being entertaining detective yarns, boast great and unique ensemble casts portraying quirky and distinctive characters, and Wake Up Dead Man is no exception in this regard. Mons. Wicks tends his flock with the devout Martha (Glenn Close), the secretary of the parish.
The loyal parishioners of Wicks include local town doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), lawyer Vera Draven (Kerry Washington) and her adopted son and failed politician Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack), former best-selling author Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), former world-renowned concert cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), and church groundskeeper Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church). It may not be my favorite ensemble of the bunch, but it is definitely a strong one.
Johnson has never shied away from politics when it comes to these movies, either. This one is perhaps the most overtly political. Wicks is a bombastic firebrand, and the loyal members of his congregation include some individuals who do not agree with his methods or the way he may sometimes demean visitors in the pews. Still, they always end up falling in line.
In one particularly scathing scene, Fr. Jud attempts to connect with Cy, who recounts his failed political bid and how he tried everything to “connect” and the litany of “issues” he brings up that have been actual Republican political talking points is staggering to hear in one grouping, culminating in Cy completely missing Fr. Jud’s point to get back to the basics by saying, “Basics, like show them something they hate and then make them afraid it’s going to take away something they love?” It’s a perfect encapsulation of political fearmongering.
In another scene, when Wicks is confronted with a startling revelation, it is shocking how quickly they rationalize it. “We’re with you, and literally nothing you can say or do will change that.” The parallels to Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress cannot be mistaken.
It is clear that Johnson and company are having a blast making these movies, and he has made a name for himself in crafting knotty tales, as far back as his pre-Star Wars days with Brick, The Brothers Bloom, and Looper. These detective stories clearly scratch an itch for him, and he gets to play with the tropes, without certain details to keep the audience guessing, but also give enough clues to string the audience along (and a second viewing is rewarding because there are some hints that pop up that would go unnoticed the first time through. He also gets to subvert expectations.
Early on, Blanc revels in the anticipation of the eventual “big reveal” when he gets to lay out the case and point the finger at the murderer, which he calls the checkmate moment. He also marvels at the case being what he calls a “perfect murder,” which is right out of a detective novel; Monsieur Wicks dies in a small room off from the pulpit with Fr. Jud and every other suspect in full view of one another and not going near the body.
The spiritual nature of the case, though, gets in the way of Blanc, and in more ways than one. It is also the surprising strength of the movie. Blanc is an avowed agnostic who “worships at the altar of the rational.” And yet, even though he does not have a conversion, he has his own “Road to Damascus” moment where he sees the light and chooses to give grace rather than judgment. And that is because of the character of Fr. Jud.
Josh Connor has already given several great performances in a very brief acting career, and Fr. Jud is right up there. Because of his boxing past and a desire to reject the man he was then, he believes in an open-armed stance, as opposed to a guarded approach, when it comes to the Church and the world.
This makes him diametrically opposed to Wicks. It’s also what is impressed upon Blanc; Blanc believes in Fr. Jud’s innocence regarding the murder, but he is initially flummoxed and exasperated by Fr. Jud’s reluctance to fight for it and how quickly he is, in Blanc’s eyes, distracted from the case by priestly duties.
One particular scene moved me to tears, where Fr. Jud makes a phone call regarding a significant detail. Despite the urgency that Blanc feels and the impatience he has, Fr. Jud nevertheless stays on the phone when the person he is talking to expresses that she is going through a rough patch and feels alone.
Fr. Jud’s approach to Christianity is refreshing and authentic compared to the nakedly ambitious, power-hungry version that Mons. Wicks offers. And maybe I’m just an easy sucker for films that “preach” a message that I feel deep down, that when it comes to Christianity and the world, it is not a battlefield but a harvest field, but, if so, then I am happy to be that sucker.
While Johnson handles the spiritual with aplomb, this film also boasts some absolutely beautiful visual moments. Flashbacks involving a mystery surrounding the church and Wicks’ family and mysterious inheritance are displayed with vivid reds and blues, as well as other colors, almost like looking through a stained-glass window at times.
The church itself is unadorned with religious iconography; in fact, there is not even a cross on the wall, just the hooks and the outline of a cross that used to hang on the wall, which serves as a reminder to the congregation of the past, specifically involving Wicks’ mother.
My personal favorite scene of the film, though, is when Fr. Jud first meets Blanc in the parish. Blanc admits he is not a man of faith and then goes into great detail about why that is the case, laying out all the awful things that have been done in the name of God over the centuries. Almost imperceptibly, the environment darkens as he speaks. And when he is done, Fr. Jud counters about how the Church can be a force for good in the world, and the sunlight slowly seeps back in, peeking out from behind the clouds.
Religion being the focus also allows the film to examine other universal truths, such as the distinction between the actual truth of certain events and the stories people tell about them, which has produced some timeless classic films (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance comes immediately to mind).
Rian Johnson was supposed to make a Star Wars trilogy after The Last Jedi, but those plans fell apart. Instead, we have been treated to a detective trilogy that equals, if not surpasses, the best film adaptations of Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot over the years. At some point, he will likely make something other than a Knives Out Tale, but I welcome a return to Benoit Blanc as long as Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig are interested in making them.
Wake Up Dead Man is a whodunit that delivers the goods. As Blanc says of the case, it’s “a murder, dressed as a miracle, and I solve murders.” Fans of detective films will love this movie, but anyone looking for a good yarn will find enjoyment in this film too. There’s also some surprisingly moving moments sprinkled in there.
Smart, stylish, and unexpectedly soulful, Wake Up Dead Man may be the sharpest knife in Rian Johnson’s drawer yet.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
