By the time an average American youth reaches 18 years of age, they will have witnessed some 40,000 simulated murders across the entertainment landscape.
Needless to say, filmmaker Rian Johnson has his work cut out for him trying to do something new and (ahem) arresting in the overdone genre of the whodunnit. And yet, succeed he has, turning KNIVES OUT, his 2019 tribute to Agatha Christie drawing room murder mysteries, into a ginormous hit and spawning two sequels so far. The second sequel entitled WAKE UP DEAD MAN just opened and it finds plenty of ways to honor the genre and yet give it all a new spin too. And in doing so, expect it to be a big hit this holiday season.
WAKE UP DEAD MAN announces how unique it is right off the bat by spending an inordinate amount of time setting up the scenario, almost a good hour, with a character who will end up being a murder suspect and have more screen time than Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, the intrepid detective who is the star of the series. The dominating character is a young priest named Father Jud Duplenticy, and he’s played by an all-in Josh O’Connor (THE CROWN, CHALLENGERS). Costarring alongside Craig and O’Connor are a roster that could envy many such whodunnits including name stars like Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Thomas Haden Church, and Mila Kunis.
Duplenticy even narrates the film via the expositional letter he’s written to Blanc asking him to intervene on his behalf in the investigation of the murder of Duplenticy’s boss, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Brolin). Wicks was the charismatic leader of a small yet devout New England congregation. Among Wick’s devotees, and possible suspects aside from Duplenticy, include Wick’s right-hand woman Martha Delacroix (Close), town doctor Ned Sharp (Renner), high-powered attorney Vera Draven (Washington), best-selling author Lee Ross (Scott), disabled concert cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), and aspiring politician Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack).
They all profess to have loved Wicks, but soon, Duplenticy discovers there’s much more to each of their stories. At times, it almost feels odd that Blanc is in the film at all, as Duplenticy feels like he’s playing Holmes, Watson, and potentially, Moriarty. Still, Craig earns his keep, not only seeing things with a fresh perspective that the priest cannot, but also by offering his country-fried morality on those parishioners who turn out to be more sinner than saint.
Some of Johnson’s plotting gets elaborate, and even confusing, as the backstories of everyone involved become more twisted and complex with each passing act, but Johnson ensure that his healthy wit and style as a filmmaker at least keep up with all of his many mystery machinations. In fact, if anything, the film has so many laughs and so much silliness to it, the piece could use more menace. Or perhaps I’ve just seen too many of these sorts of things like all those other viewers exposed to some 40,000 plus simulated murders and wanting more.
Still, one genuine and welcome surprise here is that despite its setting, the film ends up being quite positive in its attitude towards God and faith. As Blanc exposes the truth, he himself reckons the Divine in the matters at hand and cannot turn his back on them even though as a rigorous man of facts, he likely would. For my money, that was the nicest twist here and shows that Johnson doesn’t just want to play with the genre expectations and make quality sequels showing off a great cast, production values, and a clever, knowing script. He wants us to think more and contemplate life, death, and even where each of us stands in the world under the eye of the Almighty. After all, if one believes in God, we are apt to see him as the ultimate judge and jury of our time here on Earth, right? Hey! Now there’s a new sequel idea – -Blanc as Holmes with the Almighty playing his Watson. Those 40,000 teens haven’t seen that before.
