“Wake Up Dead Man” is the latest from visionary director Rian Johnson, and it marks the third entry into Johnson’s murder mystery trilogy starring Daniel Craig as the witty, intelligent and observant detective, Benoit Blanc.
Like the first and second films, “Knives Out” (2019) and “Glass Onion” (2022), “Wake Up Dead Man” comprises of many A-list actors including Craig, Josh O’Connor, Andrew Scott, Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Thomas Haden Church, Jeremy Renner, Mila Kunis, Cailee Spaeny and Kerry Washington.
O’Connor plays Catholic priest Jud Duplenticy, and after he punches a deacon in the face, he is relocated by the bishop to a church in upstate New York. The church, Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, is led by one pastor, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, played by Brolin.
Wicks is, to say the least, a fiery priest with a personality only so few of his parishioners can handle. During Mass, Wicks presents a more distorted, fear-based view of Catholicism whenever he gives his homilies. Duplenticy doesn’t approve of how Wicks operates his parish and even threatens to cut him “out like a cancer.”
During a Good Friday service of Holy Week of the Catholic liturgical calendar, Wicks dies unexpectedly from a stab wound in his back. Duplenticy and the congregation are in complete shock by this, and soon Duplenticy is seen as the prime suspect by the local police as well as those who were loyal to Wicks.
However, private detective Benoit Blanc agrees to help solve the seemingly impossible homicide. He joins forces with Duplenticy, and the two of them together try to make sense of the event.
All of the entries involving Craig’s Blanc have had their own flavor in terms of what characters they are focused on, what the setting is and what thematic undertones the film is trying to convey.
“Knives Out” was about an innocent immigrant caretaker prevailing over a pretentious and arrogant white family and gaining their patriarch’s inheritance, while “Glass Onion” centered on how a billionaire thought they could literally get away with murder due to their wealth.
“Wake Up Dead Man” takes a sharp turn toward the power of faith and Catholic guilt, as well as how corruption within a religious institution can bring out the absolute worst in human beings. It isn’t necessarily a ground-breaking idea on Johnson’s part, but how the story is brought to life by the actors’ performances makes for a powerful watch.
None of this is achieved without a brilliant performance by O’Connor as Duplenticy. As an actor, O’Connor has been on a forward momentum of greatness. He expertly picks and chooses what films he’ll act in, and in “Wake Up Dead Man,” he’s just fantastic.
O’Connor himself was raised Catholic and served as an altar server in his youth, which is evident in his portrayal of Duplenticy. Opposite to O’Connor is Craig as Blanc. In each of the three films, Craig and Johnson keep improving the character more and more.
Blanc is established as someone who only believes in rationality and calls God “a fiction” in the film. But, he doesn’t disrespect Duplenticy or anyone religious over the course of the runtime. Actually, he encourages Duplenticy to exercise his priestly duties in a time of need, come the film’s finale.
This kind of care, when it comes to Catholicism, is a huge plus for Johnson since he is the writer and director. “Wake Up Dead Man” could have easily been another film that chooses to make fun of the Catholic Church, but it doesn’t do that.
According to OSV News, Johnson hired Father Scott Bailey, a priest from Denver, Colorado, to help him with the script being accurate with Catholic practices and beliefs.
With how well-crafted it is, “Wake Up Dead Man” has the potential to be the best of Johnson’s murder mystery trilogy. It is available to stream on Netflix and can be seen in theaters.
Rating: 4/5
