written and directed by Rian Johnson
As someone who considers himself a fan of Rian Johnson's "Knives Out" movies, I'm a little sheepish to admit that I didn't catch this latest one, Wake, Up, Dead Man, until several months after its release on Netflix, and I'm even more embarrassed to admit that I haven't gotten around to reviewing it until just now. I'll explain why later, but I am glad I eventually caught the latest mystery adventure of Benoit Blanc, played once more with aplomb by Daniel Craig.
Writer-director Rian Johnson takes us to Church for this film, which actually focuses on a different character this time: Catholic priest Fr. Jud Duplenticy, played by an excellent Josh O'Connor. Fr. Jud's a bit of a hothead, having been a former boxer before joining the priesthood, and his temper still manages to flare up as he punches a deacon and lands in a backwater with a dwindling congregation and a very cantankerous old priest, Father Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Fr. Wicks preaches to a tiny handful of parishioners who include his secretary Martha (Glenn Close), a doctor Nat (Jeremy Renner), washed-up author Lee (Andrew Scott), cutthroat lawyer Vera (Kerry Washington), ailing musician Simone (Cailee Spaenee) and aspiring influencer Cy (Daryl McCormack). Sparks fly almost instantly when Fr. Jud sets foot in the new parish, with Fr. Wicks determined to provoke him into even more violence with his incendiary words and even physical abuse. When Fr. Wicks mysteriously dies during a mass, as a result, Fr. Jud is an instant suspect, and Benoit Blanc is once again on the case, much to the chagrin of the local sheriff (Mila Kunis). As always, though, the situation is far more complicated than it appears, and the real killer could have been anyone from among Fr. Wick's remaining parishioners.
More than either of the previous two movies, Wake Up, Dead Man is very much a whodunit, rather than Johnson's social commentary disguised as one, and while Johnson's swipe at religion, as embodied by the very worldly, very corrupt Fr. Wick, was very much expected, the fact that he centers the narrative around the idealistic Fr. Jud and (no spoilers, I promise), makes his crisis of faith a central tenet of how the film's conflicts are resolved is something I would not have expected form a modern Hollywood film. Benoit Blanc is a supporting character in his own film; this is all about how Fr. Jud navigates the extremely trying time he faces in the film as a murder suspect, and Josh O'Connor truly rises to the occasion with a performance that is just superb in its nuance.
I said earlier that I almost passed this movie up, and it's simply because I am annoyed that it wasn't available on the big screen. These Knives Out movies may not be action extravaganzas, but this is, for me at least the kind of meat-and-potatoes storytelling that deserves a good, long run in movie theaters. Decisions like Netflix's call to keep this almost exclusively to their streaming service with a token theatrical release make me so very glad that Netflix didn't end up buying Warner Brothers.
9.5/10
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