“This murder was dressed as a miracle.”
I can only imagine that Rian Johnson is a fan of the BBC series Jonathan Creek. That idiosyncratic detective played by Alan Davies, who for a few seasons in the late 90s/early 00s was so adept at solving the most mindboggling of crimes, each one seeming more unsolvable than the other. Like Johnson’s own mysteries,Jonathan Creek took crimes that seemed larger than life in whodunnit terms and was able to bring them back down to earth for reveals that laid everything out in ways we should have seen coming, but never did. Jonathan Creek ran its course, eventually (some feel) overstaying its welcome. Fortunately, neither Johnson nor the endearing character he created, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), shows any signs of slowing down. Nor should they.
In Wake Up Dead Man, the third outing in the Knives Out series, Blanc has been sent over to a small church in the countryside where the beloved Monsignor Wicks (Josh Brolin) has been found dead under mysterious circumstances. All fingers point to Reverend Jud (Josh O’Connor), a young priest new to the parish whom no one particularly likes. However, a number of devoted parishioners (Glenn Close, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Daryl McCormack, Cailee Spaeney, Andrew Scott, and Thomas Haden Church) also soon prove that they’re not above suspicion. With the assistance of the local Police Chief (Mila Kunis), Blanc sets out to solve his toughest case yet.
Johnson has played with some real-life themes in his past two Knives Out installments, incorporating them well into the mystery surrounding them. Immigration was present during the first film, while the far-reaching power of tech billionaires was front and center in the second. This time out, Johnson investigates religion and faith. What’s interesting about the filmmaker’s treatment of the subject matter is how Blanc isn’t necessarily questioning the faith itself, but rather those who gravitate towards it. It’s here where all of the characters’ real motives come out. At the risk of revealing why those in the film choose to worship the late Wicks and what he preaches, there’s something very honest and intriguing about the way Johnson points out each character’s hidden agenda behind the façade of sheer, unshakable belief. Some are looking for redemption, some are looking for opportunity, and some are looking for something that would make even the biggest of non-believers question themselves. Regardless of the reasons behind each character’s devotion, Johnson never passes the kind of judgment other, more cynical filmmakers might have. Instead, he lets his characters make their own case and essentially atone for themselves.
As far as the actual mystery itself, it’s certainly an intriguing one, not least of all because it takes place inside a locked room. The locked door mystery has been done a number of times, from Sherlock Holmes to Clue, to even Jonathan Creek himself. Here, Johnson has expanded the puzzle factor of such a mystery and presented the audience with a collection of suspects and an endless series of scenarios in which anyone could have feasibly pulled it off. Each of the suspects not only has the requisite motives, but all of them feel naturally suspicious in their own right. This leads to some well-written character quirks, which, of course, the talented ensemble is only too happy to deliver. However, a lack of balance when it comes to each suspect’s screen time does tip the scales in a certain direction and makes Wake Up Dead Man feel a tad less fun than it otherwise could have been. Want a hint? Look for the most notable name(s) in the group, and you won’t have far to travel from there. This is ultimately irrelevant, however, as any fan of the series will tell you that it’s the “how” that matters more than the “who,” and it’s in the revelation of the former where Johnson and Blanc come through.
Craig could play Blanc in his sleep by this point, which he thankfully doesn’t. The actor is still so in love with his character, as evidenced by the gleam in his eye as he dives headlong into every southern-dipped wrap and quip. It remains the role the actor was born to play. The rest of the cast are all well-appointed, even if you forget that some of them are actually in the movie. Among those who succeed are Close’s devoted secretary, Brolin’s formidable Monsignor, and O’Connor’s novice priest, who does tremendous work as the one struggling with his faith the most.
Wake Up Dead Man is not a bad Knives Out film. It’s just not the best one. That title goes to the untouchable Glass Onion, in which Johnson took everything that was so good about the first movie and accentuated it with jaw-dropping twists and involving characters. This film too has a great deal of attributes, not least of which is the Northern countryside with the decidedly gothic feel that never stops, and the exploration of the need people have to latch onto what they need to latch onto for whatever reason. As much of a mixed bag as the film ultimately is, it’s still the kind of telling and intriguing mystery that simply doesn’t exist as much as it should; one that Jonathan Creek would ultimately be taken by.
