ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Back in 2019, film director Rian Johnson introduced audiences to master detective Benoit Blanc in the murder mystery “Knives Out,” which ended up being a hit and spawning a franchise, including 2022’s “Glass Onion” (which some of you may remember I also reviewed). Six years after his big screen debut, Blanc is on his third adventure in the franchise with “Wake Up Dead Man.”
The film, released on Netflix last week, follows Blanc (Daniel Craig) as he teams up with earnest young priest Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) to investigate a seemingly perfectly impossible crime at a small-town church with some dark secrets.
Like the other two entries in the “Knives Out” franchise, the casting is on point with “Wake Up Dead Man.” Josh O’Connor does a great job as Fr. Jud, and I would argue he’s the true star of the film. Fr. Jud is a good man who truly wants to help people (a complete counter to another main character I’ll mention soon), but he’s also definitely got an edge to him, and O’Connor captures that balance extremely well. Fr. Jud is allowed to actually be a multi-dimensional human being throughout the movie, and there were some of those moments I found very amusing. My only complaint is I wish we could have gotten to actually see more of his backstory, which is only hinted at. Josh Brolin is absolutely despicable as the film’s main murder victim, Monsignor Wicks, and he’s a perfect representation of someone in authority who no one really likes but has too much power and protection for anyone to really be able to do anything. I obviously can’t say with 100 percent certainty who Brolin drew inspiration from for the character, but there were definitely a few political figures – past and present – who came to mind for me.
Daniel Craig is still droll and hilarious as Benoit Blanc, and I feel like this is the only other role I’ll be able to associate him with besides 007. However, I couldn’t help but feel with this outing, he was put more on the back burner so Josh O’Connor could be more of the star character, because he definitely didn’t have as much free reign in the story compared to the first two “Knives Out” movies. The final standout for me was Glenn Close as the very devout Martha Delacroix – she does a great job as a representation of *that* extra-devout congregant found in every church, but she’s able to do so without entirely becoming a caricature, which I appreciated. As amazing as everyone is, however (and the cast includes heavyweights such as Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner and Andrew Scott, among others), there definitely could have been some trimming, because there are A LOT of stories to follow as the movie goes along, and it almost got to be too much to keep track of. Overall, like the other two “Knives Out” outings, the casting is top-notch this time around.
In terms of the story and screenplay, “Wake Up Dead Man” has more twists and turns than any of the rollercoasters at Frontier City down in Oklahoma City, but in a good way, because I was definitely engaged the full time. Like the cast size, however, I felt like this was another aspect that also could have been (and some would probably argue SHOULD have been) trimmed down, because there’s a lot to keep up with and remember as the movie goes along. It’s one of those situations where everything gets explained and/or resolved, but at a runtime of almost two and a half hours, it admittedly did feel like a bit of a slog getting there at some points. With that in mind, the movie’s overall pacing also could have been improved with some tightening up here and there, because there are some moments I felt rather dragged. I also couldn’t help but notice “Wake Up Dead Man” was more introspective than the previous two films (not that they didn’t have some subtle messages though), and I thought it ended up working out really, really well. Overall, I enjoyed the story, and the writers definitely deserve a big shoutout.
The movie’s cinematography from Steve Yedlin is also a total win, and his work make’s the movie’s overall vibe REALLY stand out, whether the scene takes place in the church or outside or wherever. Everything is so clear and gorgeous and I thought almost every shot was beautiful. With that in mind, I also have to give a shoutout to whoever this movie’s location scouts were, because the churches they picked to be the filming locations are absolutely gorgeous inside and out,
Overall, I enjoyed Benoit Blanc’s third outing in “Wake Up Dead Man” and would give the movie a solid “B” grade. Like the franchise’s first two films, the casting is absolutely on point, particularly with leading man Josh O’Connor and fellow cast members Josh Brolin, Daniel Craig and Glenn Close – honestly, no one involved in this movie gives a bad performance. However, the large ensemble cast did feel a bit stuffed to me and could have probably been trimmed. I also loved the movie’s overall story and all the twists and turns, though again, that also could have probably used some trimming. The location scouts should also get some recognition for their work because their choices were absolutely gorgeous. If you’re a fan at all of the other “Knives Out” films, you’ll definitely want to cue up “Wake Up Dead Man.”
