Deron Generally
Deron GenerallyWake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Netflix
Written by Rian Johnson
Directed by Rian Johnson
Starring Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church and Jeffrey Wright
Rated PG-13
Detective Benoit Blanc teams up with an earnest young priest to investigate a perfectly impossible crime at a small-town church with a dark history.
The third “Knives Out” adventure of Daniel Craig’s detective Benoit Blanc takes the character into the heart of a small-town mystery that will challenge his abilities and even his beliefs. The movie begins with Father Jud Duplenticy (O’Connor) a parish priest who has been assigned to a small church in upstate New York in the aftermath of a violent incident. An incident that has emotional ties to a personal trauma that haunts him. O’Connor has a commanding screen presence and captivates as a character thrown into strange and unusual circumstances and surrounded by even stranger people. I really enjoyed seeing him navigate these individual personalities in the lead up to the murder that kicks off the plot.
One of the characters that is central to the plot of the film is Monsignor Jefferson Weeks, played by Josh Brolin. The character is brash and commands his flock with both fear and anger until only a handful of faithful remain. The ones who remain have created a kind of cult-like atmosphere around him and when Jud arrives, they are immediately suspicion and hostile as the cult of personality Weeks creates demands more from them through his charisma and intimidation. Brolin gives a fantastic performance as Weeks and there is an uneasiness to every scene he is in because you cannot predict how he will react or what he will say. It’s a great quasi-villainous role that is way more complicated than you would think at first glance.
Another character that stands out in the film is Martha Delacroix, played by Glenn Close. She is unwavering in her devotion to the church and Weeks and her connection to that church and its history is one of the major plot points of the film. Close is masterful as a character who could be perceived as a villain, but is so emotionally flawed that you feel for her. That’s one of the things that I love about mystery stories and movies. Characters can be perceived as both villain and victim at any given point and that gives weight to any moment they are on screen.
The rest of the cast does great work for the most part, but they do tend to embody caricatures more than real people. There is the writer who has become a conspiracy nut, the wannabe conservative influencer more interested in status than substance and the alcoholic doctor with marital problems. The big name cast members who play them do it well, but nothing about the characters themselves stand out more than their secrets which the Monsignor uncovers and uses to keep them under his thumb. When he is found murdered, that is when the story truly starts to pick up because a set of strange circumstances and innuendos puts Jud in the crosshairs as the likely culprit prompting the town sheriff (Kunis) to bring in Blanc to uncover the truth.
Craig is consistently engaging and interesting as Blanc. Instead of dealing with people devoted to their wealth and status like in the first two films Knives Out and Glass Onion, the suspects in this film as shackled by their faith and fear. It allows Blanc to take a different approach to his investigation while also challenging his own beliefs when the case takes a totally unexpected turn. Craig commands the screen in every scene he is in. He can capture the moment as well as step back and let the other characters have theirs. It’s a wonderful balance that he brings to the character that makes him consistently rewatchable in this role. I would love to see him return to this character again and again.
Rian Johnson crafts a thoroughly intriguing and entertaining script in Wake Up Dead Man. His story and direction are rich, atmospheric and compelling both in the mystery itself, but in the characters. A lot of the pacing and story elements reminded me more of the first Knives Out film which focused most of its story on Ana De Armas’ character. This has O’Connor’s Jud as the deer in the headlights as circumstances are manipulated around him and the walls are starting to close in. There are some insane and innovative twists in this story and while some of the social commentary lacks subtlety, the overall story never suffers because of it.
Wake Up Dead Man is another great entry into the Knives Out series and is another big screen mystery that reminds me of everything I love about the genre and the consulting detective style character. It’s story is compelling, its mystery is interesting and its ending makes me want more.
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