'Wake Up Dead Man' Is Filled With Life
That's the fastest 2-hour and 20-minute film I've seen in a long time. Rian Johnson might have struck a chord with this old Star Wars fan's nerves, but I must admit that when someone knows how to structure a story. The Last Jedi may forever be Rian Johnson's crowning failure with Star Wars fans, but the rest of his filmography is wonderful. Minus the fly episode from Breaking Bad. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery does everything a murder mystery should do. Secondly, the Knives Out films does everything right that The Last Jedi got wrong.
Perhaps The Last Jedi wasn't entirely Rian's fault. Disney pressured Johnson with a tight deadline, resulting in a tonally inconsistent, structurally sloppy film. Johnson wanted to capitalize on Disney's self-aware humor, which J.J. Abrams had established. What we got was a comedy that told fans they're idiots for liking something popular. In case you were wondering if Johnson was being a condescending troll, Wake Up Dead Man makes it abundantly clear he was, with a Star Wars reference to add fuel to the fire Johnson knowingly started.
Johnson's need to toy with his audience isn't a crude subversion in Wake Up Dead Man or any of the Knives Out films, since the entire plot revolves around subversions. Not many people can pull off who-dunnit plots well, since they require a lot of pieces to work. You need interesting characters who, when they die, they're memorable. A strong protagonist, motivation, setting, and ever-shifting plot that doesn't come across as lazy in its twists. If Johnson gets a kick out of pissing people off, then he's going for the ultimate swing to the biggest nuts imaginable and hits them with wonderful efficiency.
Religion, the hottest button topic to ever exist. One so hot people will kill in the name of something they can't see or hear unless they're schizoid. The third Knives Out film follows the story of a priest who's a true man of God living under the roof of a relentless heathen. Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor) enters the church with the best of intentions, unaware how over his head he's about to be. The contentious father Mons. Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) challenges Duplenticy's patience with his hostility. Wicks causally confesses daily about his weekly masturbation sessions. Weird, but not a big deal. But it gets worse.
Wicks has created a congregation centered around fear. Instead of finding peace in God, those who are unholy are met with scorn from the church, drawing sharp divides that go against everything that Jesus has taught. It's the modern-day conservative talking points. Love thy neighbor as long as they're rich and on your team. To hell with everyone else. Not very Christ-like. Luckily, one day, Wicks is whacked. But by whom? And how? It's easy to figure out why. Or is it? Once Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) enters the scene, the movie becomes a dazzling mystery that will keep you hooked from start to finish.
Like any good mystery, you'll never be able to guess where each twist will take you. You'll question what's real and what's not. Who's innocent? Who's guilty? Did Jeremy Renner try to call ICE on his co-stars? Everything! Wrapped in one beautiful mystery box. It's difficult to conjure a loose hanging plot thread. Johnson's script for these movies is airtight. He knows his tone, twists, and heart.
The protagonist in this film is a great character. Father Duplenticy is a man who, once filled with anger to the point of taking a life, is now a rejuvenated priest who stands against the hypocrisy of the church and himself, believing that penance is necessary. He's about as grounded as Ana de Armas' character in the first one, where the second film didn't seem to have much of a moral center. The look of the picture is also extremely rich, filled with vivid colors that mostly don't shine as bright as they do in films today.
For its third film, Wake Up Dead Man scales back from The Glass Onion, focusing on a small church instead of a private island or mansion. Although the men in power in this film aren't rich, they seek fortune over the lord's teachings. Focusing on this small location helps center the story's themes of bigotry, forgiveness, and compassion. It's the deepest Knives Out, showcasing how brilliant Johnson is as a writer when given the time needed to flesh out a project. Unfortunately, no movie is perfect.
If there were some problems with the film, is that its bigger killer reveal is quite predictable. If a fool like me can figure it out, you can too. Additionally, there's one glaring plot hole in the movie that, when examined, reveals some flaws in an otherwise masterfully crafted picture. This probably won't be the end of the Knives Out anthology series. Nor should it be. Let Rian sharpen his blades and keep cooking. Johnson may have killed Star Wars, but Wake Up Dead Man is very much alive.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery will play in select theaters on November 26th and stream on Netflix starting December 12th.
