Chris Harrison says that Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery thrills, surprises, and is a rare sequel that lives up to its predecessors.
Director Rian Johson is back with another entry in the Knives Out series, once again dropping private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) into a world of larger-than-life characters as he solves a murder where everyone has a motive.
While the previous two entries were set in mansions and parodied the ultra rich, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery focuses its lens on another source of power in a case that revolves around a small-town church. Jud Duplenticy (a superb Josh O’Connor) is a new priest with a violent past that led him to become a man of the cloth (he killed a man in the boxing ring in his previous life as a fighter) and to transfer to the church he finds himself in now (he struck a priest at his first post).
He cuts a gentle figure and brings with him a message of forgiveness and understanding but has trouble integrating himself into his new surroundings. He finds himself at odds ideologically with both the church’s current priest, Msgr. Jefferson Micks (Josh Brolin), who is all fire and brimstone in his sermons, playing on the fears and insecurities of his flock, narrowing their numbers into a small group of ideologues devoted to his message and engulfed by his cult of personality. When Mick is found dead during service, all eyes are on the new priest with whom he has butted heads, and Blanc shows up to investigate.
As always, the series wears its influences on its sleeves. Not only is Benoit Blanc a Hercule Poirot tribute of sorts, but the locked-room mystery at the center of the story explicitly references The Hollow Man and multiple Agatha Christie tales. Blanc is a delight on screen as always, with his penchant for theatrics and roguish southern charm, constantly turned to 11 on the dial by Craig, who clearly has a blast embodying the character (and doing his Cajun accent).
Wake Up may very well be the funniest entry in the franchise, and some of its biggest laughs come from a supporting cast that complements an already strong script. O’Connor in particular has great comedic timing as Jud, who can never quite watch his language in church, and Glenn Close is excellent as Martha, whose reactions elevate every scene she’s in.
While the mystery unfolds, there’s a philosophical battle of sorts going on as well, between Jud and Mick over the future of the church and the way it should present itself to the world, and Blanc, who has no interest in the divine. While the setting may be different, the exploration of power and its ability to corrupt is as effective as always, especially when juxtaposed with the themes of belief and followership.
The camera teases clues as the case progresses, and some of the shots are stunning, whether they’re intended to reveal or throw viewers off. Setting the film in a church wasn’t just a boon narratively, but visually, heightening the dramatic tension and intrigue with a glance seen through a stained glass window here, and a scene bathed in church lights there.
It’s rare for a sequel to live up to its predecessors, and even rarer for a third entry, but the third Knives Out film is even better than the second, and possibly on par with the first. This series still has the capacity to surprise and thrill and hopefully there will be many more of these in the future.
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