“Wake Up, Dead Man” is Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” installment number three, and it’s just premiered at TIFF amid a tide of positive first reactions. If “Knives Out” was a revival of the beloved Agatha Christie puzzle mystery and “Glass Onion” a cousin who was simply cheerier and more satirical in its approach, then this next installment plunges viewers squarely into the gothic dark. According to Johnson himself, this new film is his “Edgar Allan Poe moment” because this sense pervades every second of the film.
Instead of the bright, colorful estates of America, the tale that unfolds here is one of crypts and cloisters in a corner of upstate New York City, where the distinctions between religion, power, and secrecy are jumbled. At its heart is Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), a fire-and-brimstone preacher whose hold over his congregation makes him as much a cult leader as a religious one. However, when Jefferson Wicks meets a gruesome and inexplicable end during the delivery of a Good Friday sermon and is struck down right before the eyes of his congregation, the churchyard becomes the setting for Benoit Blanc’s most sinister case to date.
Johnson’s Ensemble Shines in a Richer, Darker Mystery
Daniel Craig reprises his role as detective Benoit Blanc, this time giving a performance that is already being hailed by many critics as one of his richest in recent years. Though he still retains his quintessential Southern accent and sense of humor, this time around, the detective is much quieter, more thoughtful, and a man who is analyzing not only clues but also the frailty of humanity itself. Trying to make sense of the complex web of half-truths, hurt pride, and unrequited love in Wicks’ followers, Johnson chooses to see Benoit Blanc as more than just the clear-sighted detective but also as a foil and even a reflection of Jud Duplenticy, who is the young and idealistic priest played by Josh O’Connor.
O’Connor, whose turn has been noted in early reviews, brings Jud as a man torn between his faith and guilt. He was once a man of fists and fury, until one night when his punch was the end, rather than the means, of a fight, as he accidentally killed his opponent. Since then, he swapped the ring, where his fury dictated a destination of endless rage, for the pews, where his every prayer is a petition for forgiveness. His uneasy alliance with Blanc becomes the emotional center of the film, which establishes a buddy premise that examines belief vs. reason, and empathy vs. calculation. As IndieWire wrote, “Johnson knows his form and format, and delivers on it – playing with tone and message but never losing sight of why these stories are so damn entertaining to watch and unravel.”
The suspects, much in line with Johnson’s talent for building unforgettable fashion statements, are as vibrant as they are damaged. Andrew Scott as the resentful sci-fi novelist, Kerry Washington as the wound-up lawyer, Jeremy Renner as the fallen doctor, Cailee Spaeny as the fragile ex-musician, and Glenn Close as the reliable church matriarch. Each with secrets and motivations of their own, adding depth to the story that is said to make this film more layered than Glass Onion yet just as mischievous in its gothic thriller momentum.
Johnson’s Knives Out Reaches Its Peak Combining Suspense and Soul
However, despite the dark undertones, it never eschews the sly humor that made the series so endearing to fans in the first place. Per Deadline’s Damon Wise, the movie retains its sense of fun. In fact, he even insinuated there’s a “Scooby-Doo-style” mystery being presented. Johnson revels in the ridiculous aspects of sleuthing, although he couches it in terms of contemporary fears as the new Knives Out Mystery centers on the disinformation echo chamber, passionate politics, and the need for people to find belief in anything, no matter the devastation it will cause.
It is what sets Wake Up Dead Man apart from other clever puzzle games that it is not afraid to be uncomfortable with the notion of being uncomfortable and does so perfectly. The gothic setting is more than just a superficial flourish, as it seems to be a lens through which guilt, manipulation, and belief are examined. Johnson puts his murder mystery in a churchyard, literalizing the conflict between sin and salvation, exploring what it means to seek the truth in a world where both can be subverted for an agenda. Clocking in at 141 minutes, the movie moves quickly, and reviewers consider it to be the most complete Knives Out film Johnson has ever made. The reviewers have praised the performance of Josh O’Connor as he brought a real amount of grace to the role, while others appreciated how Johnson wove the emotional weight into his most complex mystery so far. At the end of it all, Wake Up Dead Man is a tale that is about more than the impossible crime. It’s a tale about the motivations that drive people towards believing, towards deceiving, and towards destroying, as it holds on to the narrative that there is a strange, uneasy humor to be found in watching the pieces come together, even in the darkest of places. With this series, Johnson has demonstrated that he is not only capable of surprising us, but that the Knives Out series is one of the most exciting experiments in modern cinema.
