Detective Benoit Blanc is back in Wake Up Dead Man, this time finding himself in a small village in upstate New York investigating the murder of a Catholic parish’s harsh but powerful priest Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). New young priest Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) is a prime suspect who has drawn the ire of Monsignor Wicks’ loyal parishioners Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), Dr. Nat Sharp, (Jeremy Renner), Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), Vera Draven (Kerry Washington), Dimone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), and Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack). Detective Blanc must once again dig deep to get to the bottom of this murder mystery.
From its genesis, the themes within the Knives Out series have been utilized as a conduit to explore social issues within our world and Wake Up Dead Man may be the most ambitious example yet. The culture that the audience witnesses at Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude is representative of the moment that our world currently finds itself in surrounding the nexus of cult of personality, politics, and religion. Monsignor Wicks has cultivated a circle of parishioners that are wholly dependent on him and look at him as the answer to all of their prayers in addition to God himself. It’s a dynamic that the Monsignor has carefully crafted and takes full advantage of in order to build power for himself, even at the expense of his followers’ happiness and well-being. It’s a topical examination of our own tendency toward following megalomaniacs and the resultant chaos and turmoil that can arise from it, tucked within the murder mystery that the series is mainly based upon. This particular tact is ambitious as it stuffs the film to the brink with themes, motivations, and machinations for multiple characters, but Johnson’s skill as both a writer and director ensure that it flows well and logically enough so that it works. The dynamic within the church is obvious enough that viewers will be struck to think about our own world, but not so preachy that it distracts from the characters and world presented onscreen and focuses us solely on their real world analogues. The Knives Out series has thrived on topicality that feels relevant but not overpowering and Wake Up Dead Man continues this well executed element of the franchise.
Mystery is still at the heart of a Knives Out story and there’s plenty of that to go around in Wake Up Dead Man. The film has plenty of twists and turns that will keep the audience guessing as to what really happened with Monsignor Wicks’ death and just who is responsible for it. With a nearly two and a half hour runtime, cultivating intrigue and establishing a long thread of questions is integral to keeping viewers engaged and the film largely pulls it off, with only a few stretches where you can feel length of its run time. This series is also known for its star studded casts and the names present in Dead Man keep that tradition going as well. O’Connor shines as one of the film’s lead characters, believably portraying a green priest with tough background but a heart to match and the desire to help those around him. Duplenticy exists to present a sort of purity that stands in contrast to the murky secrecy and tension at Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude and O’Connor’s portrayal of a young priest struggling to combat that environment and balance his past with his new life as a clergyman captures the differences well. Likewise, Brolin is deliciously evil as Monsignor Wicks and captures his despicable nature well both within the story and on a meta level as a characterization of real life social issues. Close’s turn as Martha Delacroix ties everything together by the end, offering a performance that is compelling and more emotional than one may expect from a Knives Out film. Wake Up Dead Man also touches upon frayed father-daughter relationships and the price of long held secrets and greed which are encapsulated by Martha’s story and Close is able to communicate this throughout in subtle ways before fully unveiling Martha’s vulnerability in the end. In a film that contains many high quality performances, she may just stand above them all.
Wake Up Dead Man brings all of the witty, humorous, and intriguing mystery you’ve come to expect from the Knives Out series, taken up another notch. The ensemble cast brings it with Josh O’Connor continuing to display his young talent and potential and Glenn Close offering a performance worthy of her appearing on awards shortlists. It’s thematically topical as well fitting in some in-depth social commentary with a substantial amount of story. The twisty, turny tale lengthens the runtime and though you feel it at times, it’s not bad enough to detract from the elements that are done well in the film. Overall, it’s another quality entry in this franchise and is sure to satisfy those that enjoy Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig’s mystery adventures.
Image: Netflix
