Wake Up Dead Man

 

When boxer-turned-priest Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) punches an obnoxious deacon, his punishment is reassignment to a rural parish under the iron grip of the reactionary, domineering Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Despite Wicks’ abrasiveness, he commands the loyalty of a small group of parishioners as well as Martha (Glenn Close), the church’s longtime secretary. When Jud attempts to lead the congregation down a gentler path, the two priests butt heads. And when Wicks is murdered during a Good Friday service not long thereafter, Jud becomes police chief Geraldine Scott’s (Mila Kunis) lead suspect. Enter famed detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), whom Geraldine brings in to investigate. Can he find the truth behind Wicks’ demise and clear Jud’s name.

The third film in writer-director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out series, Wake Up Dead Man is the most somber of the lot. The laughs are fewer (though the film does not eschew comedy completely), the body count higher, the themes weightier and more personal. As with the previous two entries, the film proudly embraces its Agatha Christie influences and gives Craig a chance to play off of a talented ensemble. However, there are also several departures from precedent here, some for the best, and some decidedly not.

For starters, this is far less of Blanc’s movie than the previous two. In fact, he doesn’t even show up until more than a half hour in. In and of itself, that isn’t a problem as it gives O’Connor a chance to shine. He imbues Jud with an earnest desire to help and inspire others through his faith, which meets its match in both Wicks’ self-serving demagoguery and Blanc’s skeptical, rationalist atheism. However, this shift in narrative focus also leaves Blanc a less active participant toward the end, a move meant to signal character growth but also one that takes some of the wind out of the film’s sails in light of his previous grand summations.

At 144 minutes, Wake Up Dead Man is also the longest entry in the series and feels it. That isn’t to say that it’s a slog – hardly – but rather it isn’t as narratively propulsive as the films that preceded it. A series of reveals – the Wicks family’s sordid history, a fateful meeting that preceded the murder, and more – provide useful context but slow the pace.

As with the previous films, the suspect pool is a motley gang of deplorables. There’s a powerful lawyer (Kerry Washington), her podcaster/failed politician adoptive son (Daryl McCormack), a bitter alcoholic doctor (Jeremy Renner), and an Orson Scott Card-like sci-fi author-turned-pundit (Andrew Scott). While Washington gives a spirited performance, the rest of them are fairly forgettable. And while Johnson previously showed a penchant for taking satirical shots across the political spectrum, the narrowing of his focus here to rightwing attention-mongers makes Scott and McCormack’s characters feel duplicative and Johnson’s critique feel tired. Fortunately, however, Craig, O’Connor, Brolin (a snarling cesspool of malevolent anger), and Close (devoted to the point of delusion) are strong enough to paper over the weak spots.

If nothing else, Johnson remains a sharp visual stylist. From the high ceilings to the church to the sinister dark of the woods that surround it, he leverages atmosphere to influence tone. As befits the genre, a clue can often be found lurking in the background or sometimes even in plain sight. The director’s cousin, Nathan, once again provides a well-matched score.

Wake Up Dead Man is a less enjoyable watch than the first Knives Out and, arguably, even the shallower-but-zippier Glass Onion, but its willingness to spurn repetition, coupled with its strong lead performances, make it worthwhile in its own right.