Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

(dir. Rian Johnson)

By: Adam Freed

It should come as no surprise that a provocative mystery has unfolded at the hands of Rian Johnson.  The mastermind behind the Knives Out tsunami that rolled over audiences with its Agatha Christie inspired ensemble whodunnit is back with its third iteration, and easily its best since the 2019 original. Johnson (Knives Out, Brick) once again plays to the strength of the series by framing an unsolvable mystery featuring a host of delightfully quirky and diabolical main characters.  This of course becomes perfect fodder for the (re)introduction of the world’s greatest detective, Benoit Blanc to work his methodical magic.  Blanc is once again portrayed by the indelible Daniel Craig (Queer, Skyfall) who injects his Southern gentleman detective with just enough self deprecating oddity to wrong-foot audiences for the duration of film’s delightful plot. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is an elevated genre film, both humorous and intense in perfect amalgam.

Tonally, Johnson’s film opens more playfully than past iterations, likely a strategic move considering the film’s rather serious second act exploration of the current nature of weaponized religion.  At its best, Wake Up Dead Man is a masterfully crafted genre-bending examination of the role of faith in society.  What adept audiences are likely to enjoy is a preservation of the importance of the role that faith can play in the world,  so long as it comes in service of charity and grace.  Johnson suffers no fools, brandishing a keen sword when it comes to the weaponization of faith as it comes in support of isolationism and exclusion.  Wake Up Dead Man is likely to draw cross-genre comparisons to Edward Berger’s magnificent religious exploration Conclave (2024).  Like Berger’s masterpiece, Rian Johnson weaponizes the weight of current events to bolster a script that takes flight in the hands of his brilliant cast of performers.

The ensemble format of the Knives Out trilogy once again shines as the film’s strength.  Adding to Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc are: Josh O’Connor (Challengers), Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men), Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction), Mila Kunis (Black Swan), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) and Kerry Washington (Scandal).  The most notable of whom is O’Connor who grabs hold of his starring opportunity as he embodies former boxer turned priest, Father Jud Duplenticy.  Father Jud becomes a man of the cloth in search of salvation in the wake of a misspent youth that left him spiritually bankrupt. O’Connor laudably instills his Father Jud with a palpable duality of purpose, and shines the most positive light on the upside of contemporary religion.   Jud is both sinner and saint, human and conduit to Christ, rendering the character and actor as perfectly cast to lead A Knives Out Mystery. 

Running counter to O’Connor’s purposeful Father Jud is a masterfully constructed narrow minded Monsieur Jefferson Wicks, played by Josh Brolin.  The veteran actor’s rare ability to play abrasive while sacrificing none of his magnetism is second to none.  Brolin’s character delivers a satirical gut punch to politically motivated faux-religion.  Whatever franchise luster was lost with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) has been fully replenished by the mysterious tonality and keenly delivered humorous sensibilities of Rian Johnson.

Target Score: 8.5/10 - Wake Up Dad Man: A Knives Out Mystery is a brilliantly constructed and hilariously delivered whodunnit from Rian Johnson.  With the aid of an excellent ensemble cast, the third Knives Out installment is a welcome return to form.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is included in Movie Archer’s coverage of the 61st Chicago International Film Festival.