Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

by Philip Price

Photo: Netflix

Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daniel Craig, Josh O'Connor & Glenn Close
Rating: PG-13 (violent content, bloody images, language, some crude sexual material & smoking)
Runtime: 2 hours & 24 minutes

 
It was only a matter of time before Rian Johnson used the church and religion as a means for one of his ‘Knives Out’ vehicles and as someone who can both very much relate to Mr. Benoit Blanc's position in this film (love the hair btw) while keeping my balances in check enough to understand and more critically - empathize with - Josh O'Connor's Father Jud, “Wake Up Dead Man” is everything one might hope for from Johnson's exploration of faith while not necessarily meeting the expectations he has set for us with his first two whodunits (albeit by a very small margin). As a result, ‘Kniv3s Out’ feels like an expertly concocted film where the genre serves the themes but the subject matter doesn't always allow the murder mystery aspects to excel; serving them well but not necessarily surpassing what Johnson has done in the past even as one can feel the writer/director pushing himself, invoking the classics in hopes they lead him to fresh deviations on these types of stories.  
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Johnson eloquently crafts what feels like his own ongoing internal monologue that goes back and forth between the need to solve the existence of God logically and whether feeling the essence of God’s teachings in one's soul is the real point. How Johnson graphs this onto this radical priest (closing out a banner year for Josh Brolin) and his small but loyal congregation, who each personify a type of internet personality, doesn't make it instantly feel as if something's not clicking but the turning of the knife (pun intended) becomes more apparent when our "suspects" are brought to the forefront. Kerry Washington is the networker, Daryl McCormack is the influencer, Andrew Scott is the conspiracy theorist, and Jeremy Renner embodies the lurker – watching but rarely interacting. Then there is Cailee Spaeny, who barely registers but implies to be that specific kind of social media user who posts solely for the likes, comments and validation these signs of approval bring with them. Glenn Close gaslights the hell out of people to the point I’d hate to see what she might do on message boards, while Thomas Haden Church portrays her husband, an example of toxic codependency at its best – they’re sharing one Facebook account for sure. Close nearly breaks from these molds, her Martha Delacroix carrying forth the sole purpose of keeping the corrupting evil out of wicked hands. Much like profiles on a webpage, though, these individuals are easily dismissed – working more for Johnson’s objectives than developing individual personalities. 

It's not that the mystery isn't as well-crafted as Johnson's have been previously or that it falters largely because it rests on the capable shoulders of Craig’s Blanc and O’Connor’s eager priest. Instead, it is the back and forth between these two, that aforementioned interior monologue of Johnson’s, that keeps “Wake Up Dead Man” as consistently engaging despite the core mystery not necessarily roping the audience in based purely on its own merits. An asshole clergyman, delusional patrons, and a practical but seemingly overwhelmed law enforcement official in Mila Kunis make for enough of a foundation, while it is Johnson’s immediate positioning of the church in a defensive position against a world enraptured by its “modernity” that piques the interest in those of the more intellectual variety. We understand this isn’t the mentality of everyone in the church, namely Fr. Jud and Jeffrey Wright’s Bishop Langstrom, who preach more of an open-mindedness to those the church feels threatened by, primarily because they misunderstand them. Johnson makes clear the levels of opposition early, the conflicting views of those working within the walls of the church and the voice of those on the outside, at odds with what is generally accepted by those who attend mass with Mons. Jefferson Wicks (Brolin). 

What Blanc refers to as his big “checkmate” moment doesn’t come in the climactic moments of the film where he lays out the plot and reveals the guilty – no, Johnson has a way to upend that trope this time around as well that *does* work in tandem with the faith-filled themes – but Blanc’s big speech comes on the heels of his big entrance (at the 40-minute marker, no less) where Johnson allows the self-proclaimed “proud heretic” to spill every issue and expose every empty promise the church holds as a means to justify untold acts of violence and those that are even more shameful as perpetrated by individuals it has entrusted with authority. It’s a delicious bit of writing for anyone who has ever felt persecuted, wronged or been made uncomfortable by the way religion has shaped the stories of Jesus to fit its own wants, needs and whims. And to be frank, it is precisely what one expects from a liberal Hollywood screenwriter, but what is unexpected is the grace with which Jud replies, unlike Mons. Wicks, a man who spews hatred, makes everything about himself, and pines for the material in a role that calls for only the bare necessities, Jud agrees with Blanc. He agrees so far as what has shaped one’s view of the church – positive or negative – are the stories told, passed down and interpreted to give people a sense of right and wrong, of structure, but that have often been maligned in accordance with man’s desires and not the will of God or in accordance with Jesus’ original teachings. “Do these stories convince us of a lie or do they resonate with something deep inside us that’s profoundly true?” Jud responds as Johnson positions O’Connor in front of a stained-glass window, where rays of sunlight spill through and only grow stronger the longer he speaks. Literally and figuratively illuminating O’Connor’s performance as the centerpiece, the bedrock, the conduit of the film, and what it means to say, while blowing the mystery wide open as well. 

After a single viewing, it is also impossible to grasp how well put together the pieces of the case are, how intricately the details are woven through, and whether, upon second viewing, they will hold up or fall apart once the whole picture is understood. Being familiar with Johnson’s writing style, there’s little doubt “Wake Up Dead Man” won’t pass such tests and likely will only improve upon further inspection. And while the mystery itself and how it unravels may initially feel somewhat scattered and more than a little outlandish in particular instances what is so striking about this third installment is how expertly Johnson delineates between these two opposing viewpoints and makes them work in harmony for the sake of his screenplay. Blanc is ever the pessimist, suspicious of everyone and everything, openly dismissing God as a fiction even when his audience is made up of devoted churchgoers. He is out to catch the wicked and bring them to justice, whereas Fr. Jud represents everything one would hope the church to be today, but rarely is, as his intentions are pure in serving the wicked and bringing them to Christ. Johnson emphasizes the idea of grace at multiple points, further highlighting this idea of forgiveness – mainly for those who seem to deserve it the least but need it the most. In this sense, the storytelling is quite clear and very clever – dressing a murder as a miracle – but as Benoit Blanc says in reference to the church at one point, “I feel the grandeur, the mystery, the intended emotional effect,” we feel this with the film as well. Though we’ve focused on the latter two quite a bit here it should be noted the majesty with which Johnson and his team have constructed this world for their story. Nathan Johnson’s score, the production design of the church (that pulpit!), and certain compositions utilizing the architecture, myths and costumes of the church are all present to significant effect. Additionally, in keeping with Johnson’s traditions, Noah Segan doing his best Charlie Day impression is super fun in his single scene cameo.