Film Review: Wake Up Dead Man
Not All Secrets Can Stay Buried
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film Wake Up Dead Man. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
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PLOT
Via Letterboxd: When young priest Jud Duplenticy is sent to assist charismatic firebrand Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, it’s clear that all is not well in the pews. After a sudden and seemingly impossible murder rocks the town, the lack of an obvious suspect prompts local police chief Geraldine Scott to join forces with renowned detective Benoit Blanc to unravel a mystery that defies all logic.
REVIEW
Back in 2019, when Rian Johnson’s Knives Out premiered to acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival and then became an even bigger hit at the box office, the “whodunit” left such an impression on that year in film that it was arguably just a slot or two away from a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. Three years later, we got a follow-up with Glass Onion, which was also a TIFF hit and became a major success for Netflix before once again coming close to an Oscar Best Picture nomination. Three years after that, the series has officially become a full-blown franchise centered around Daniel Craig’s Detective Benoit Blanc solving murder mysteries, with the arrival of the third film, Wake Up Dead Man.
Admittedly, my journey with this franchise has been a bumpy one. I never cared much for Johnson’s twisty and subversive storytelling sensibilities before he found himself penning a modern-day Hercule Poirot through the medium of film. I was underwhelmed by Knives Out back in 2019, but in a twist as big as anything you’d find in these movies, I loved Glass Onion so much that it ended up as my #7 film of an incredibly stacked 2022. So I came into this third installment both excited and hesitant. Would I lean more toward how I felt about the first movie, or closer to my reaction to the second?
My biggest gripe with the original Knives Out was that it featured a world-class private detective who was barely in the film, instead taking a backseat to a melodrama about rich, unlikable characters and the mousy nurse who couldn’t tell a lie without throwing up. With Glass Onion, Blanc was front and center, and the ensemble of suspects felt more colorful and interesting in how they connected to one another.
Unfortunately, or at least at first glance, it seemed like Blanc once again takes more of a backseat in Wake Up Dead Man, as the film’s central focus shifts to Josh O’Connor’s Father Jud. However, I quickly found that I didn’t care much about Blanc being in a supporting role, because Jud fascinated me enough to become my pick for favorite film character of the year. Jud’s arc as a priest with good intentions who is forced to watch a superior use his influence to corrupt the faithful and lean into a toxic form of religiosity was deeply impactful for me as a man of faith. I’ve watched in horror as Christianity has been used as a lever of power to convince millions to support things that aren’t even rooted in Jesus’ own teachings. Jud doesn’t just represent hope for a healthier expression of faith; he’s also refreshing to see in a secular Hollywood landscape where defaulting to stereotypes of fanatical Christian fundamentalists is the easier route.
That’s where Johnson’s script really shines. The film examines faith in all its forms through an ensemble that, admittedly, isn’t as cohesively linked as the casts of Glass Onion or even Knives Out, but still functions effectively as a vehicle for the themes the movie wants to explore. The lineup includes O’Connor as the well-meaning priest; Josh Brolin as the superior leading his flock astray; Glenn Close as a lifelong fundamentalist; Jeremy Renner as a drunken doctor; Kerry Washington as a parishioner carrying a burden; Daryl McCormack as that burden; Andrew Scott as a fanatical sci-fi author; Cailee Spaeny as a desperate woman searching for a cure; Thomas Haden Church as the groundskeeper; Mila Kunis as the town’s sheriff; and Jeffrey Wright as a bishop. Together, they form a mystery that engages with faith at multiple levels, asking questions about its meaning, its use, its abuse, and what draws people toward it, or pushes them away from it entirely.
Quite frankly, Blanc being more of a supporting character works far better here than it did in Knives Out. That said, I came away more frustrated with his characterization than I was in either of the previous films, especially compared to his fun presence in Glass Onion. Blanc occupies the role of the skeptic, which is to be expected, as these private-detective archetypes are almost always written as atheists. Still, there were moments where I found him disrespectful toward Father Jud’s faith, even as he clearly believes the man is innocent and is trying to help him. It’s nothing that significantly detracts from the film, but it does make Blanc feel less essential here than in the previous entries. At times, I felt like the story could’ve worked just as well with Father Jud solving the case himself while grappling with his faith and how he’s seen it weaponized by others.
That said, the film also delivers some incredible twists, fantastical and outrageous ones, but they serve the story well enough that I was happy to go along for the ride. If you’re coming for a fun, comedic mystery, Wake Up Dead Man delivers, even as it dares to engage with something as prickly as an atheist detective navigating a world of deeply held belief.
I wouldn’t rank this above Glass Onion, but I still enjoyed it enough that it’s very likely to show up among my favorites of the year, even if not quite as high. I give Wake Up Dead Man an A-. Honestly, after watching these two follow-ups, I may need to revisit the original 2019 film to see if it holds up better than I remember.
“TL;DR”
Pros: Josh O’Connor’s Father Jud might be my favorite film character of the year; The examination of faith at all angles is fascinating and incredibly well-executed; The twists are outrageous and over the top, and yet still fun and plausible enough
Cons: Detective Blanc is pushed to the background as more of a supporting character rather than the lead of his own franchise; I found Blanc bit more unlikable and damn near unneeded in this one versus the previous two films
GRADING
