Review: Benoit Blanc takes on a new case, theology and grifter culture in Wake Up Dead Man

 

Unlike a lot of James Bond actors and as much as I enjoy his work in Casino Royale (the 2006 movie, not the late 60s car wreck) and Skyfall, I see Daniel Craig both as Benoit Blanc and 007 by now. Rian Johnson’s Knives Out films have always provided a consistent balancing act of dark humor and fun potboilers that also give some weight to the victims Blanc assists. Wake Up Dead Man keeps those traditions going mostly, even while dealing with larger themes than usual. 

The Blancster is back to assist troubled priest Jud Duplenticy, aided by a great performance from Josh O’Connor, who’s suspected by the local chief (Mika Kunis) of murdering Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), his church’s domineering Monsignor who’s whipped up many of his parishioners into a lather of paranoia. 

                                         

A former boxer who’s trying to atone for causing an in-ring casualty, Jud didn’t exactly hit it off well with Wicks, and he’s the authorities’ top suspect on part of stating on record he wanted to change the way the church operated. Blanc is still willing to take on Father Jud’s dilemma, despite his dislike or organized religion and its fueling of intolerance throughout history. The two of them form sort of an odd couple as Blanc tries to make sense of what seems like an obviously closeable case, but things get more bizarre when the missing Wicks family fortune comes into play. 

Brolin in particular is a standout performance throughout the film even in flashback form, incredibly convincing as a domineering cult leader who feeds off the fear and anxiety of his members, which makes him incredibly believable. It's a remarkable accomplishment when your character's still a good antagonist in your story from beyond the grave. Glenn Close is also noteworthy as the melodramatic churchwoman who tells the tale of the missing Wicks fortune to Jud when he arrives. 

So I normally dislike the statement “all art is political” because it doesn’t account for work that’s meant to be mainly escapism (cultural influence will only take you so far in analyzing a work when someone’s making art for art’s sake). However , I’ll concede that every content creator has a worldview that subconsciously influences their work. 

All expression of art is in specific degrees though, and Rian Johnson isn’t especially shy about his worldview- particularly in how hard he makes a fool of supporting characters like Daryl McCormak’s conservative blogger and Andrew Scott as a famous writer who’s fallen into the right-wing culture war grift scene. But here’s the thing- the mystery is still so well crafted and the characters are engaging enough to where the extreme beliefs of the antagonists help the execution flow better, as opposed to feeling like Johnson is reverse-preaching to the audience.

One distinct feature about the Knives Out franchise is how Blanc mostly plays a deuteragonist role to his clients, allowing them a bulk of the character development in the story. This third film’s no different in that respect, as Jud wrestling with his guilt and also wanting to be a kind and merciful priest makes up a good portion of the film’s narrative, which makes for a more dramatic shift than usual, as I feel Glass Onion upped much of the comedy from the first entry.

For the most part, the usual Knives Out style of dark humor is still present, but this movie does take itself a bit more seriously due to the nature of Jud’s character, which I get. Blanc does get some good progression as well, I felt- while he always remains himself  (and without spoiling anything), he does engage in a bit of introspection in order to help himself reach a conclusion.

Right now I can’t say if I’d put Wake Up Dead Man ahead of the first Knives Out, as I’d say I enjoy them both equally for different reasons. But as it stands, I think Glass Onion is still my favorite of the trilogy. Nevertheless, this newest film is proof that the series hasn’t lost any sense of fun and thoughtfulness, so I’ll gladly recommend it as well as the first two movies if one hasn’t seen them by now. And without spoiling anything, I think this is the best antagonist plot crafted in these films yet.