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in the beginning Wake Up Dead Man: A knives out MysteryDetective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) uncovers the contents of her latest murder case, written on a piece of paper: a laundry list of literary classics, among them John Dixon Carr’s hollow manAgatha Christie murder of roger ackroydand edgar allan poe Murders in the Rue MorgueIt’s a refreshing set of references to see – one that speaks to the stylistic breadth of the genre that is often forgotten, Christie is its heart, but not its entirety,
writer-director Ryan Johnson Is found. This is what has made his Knives Out series feel like a bottomless well of gray matter entertainment. knives outThe original was a classic, mahogany-paneled Christie’s Riff; glass onionit had a sequel A sunbaked, deluxe spin on Sheila’s last (1973) now wake up dead man Offers a Gothic flair, perfect for a year whose adaptability is already on display Nosferatu And frankensteinwith emerald fennel Wuthering Heights on the horizon,
What’s clear from the three films is that Johnson has worked out a perfect formula, one that is rigid in some ways and flexible in others. wake up dead man is quieter than glass onionmore tonally aligned knives outNot as clever in its solutions and a little looser in its delivery, yet more meaty in its concerns. This all seems relatively insignificant. The point is that this trend has yet to falter.
The most notable aspect here is that, while every installment has paired Benoit with a good-natured colleague, previously played by Ana de Armas and Janelle Monáe, wake up dead man Offers us the best of many things. Josh O’Connor uses his furrowed brows and shy smile to particularly effective work as the timid Reverend Jude Duplantisy, a priest brought to an upscale church looking for redemption from his violent past. In his words, he is “young, dumb, and full of Christ”.
At church, he finds himself surrounded by ordinary, eccentric knitters: the enthusiastic Martha Delacroix of Glen Close; Andrew Scott’s washed-up science fiction writer Lee Ross; Kerry Washington’s fiery lawyer Vera Draven and her influential son Cy (Darryl McCormack), who dreams of a career in politics; Kelly Spaeny’s Simone Viven, a disabled former concert cellist; and Jeremy Renner’s spunky Dr. Nate Sharp.
They all live under the Trumpian influence of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). They’ve tagged their insecurities, their desperation to escape the endlessly seeking, bullshitting modern world (for Lee, it’s “the last chance to get out of Substack hell”), and instead pampered them with the egotistical binaries of conservative faith — because why consider ourselves when we can spend all our time harming others?
O’Connor, as demonstrated so beautifully last month the mastermindSome can play with contrasts like others. Beneath the Judge’s gentle, sonorous voice, there is a clarity of thought and an assurance that challenges not only Wicks’ dominance, but also Benoit’s strictly logical, atheistic worldview – which is called into question when Wicks is convicted of one of those “completely impossible” crimes and the accusing finger inevitably turns to point at the Judge.
Johnson is both brutal and honest when it comes to the moral value of faith. When Benoit delivers his final verdict, he delivers it from the stage. and yet, wake up dead man expands its usual punchline denouement with a poignant examination of what it truly means to be righteous in an unrighteous world. As Jude believes, “A priest is a shepherd. The world is a wolf.” Benoît Blanc, then, is a torch to guide us in the darkness.
Director: Rian Johnson. Starring: Daniel Craig, Josh O’ConnorGlenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Hayden Church. Cert 12A, 144 minutes