Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

With the Knives Out films, writer and director Rian Johnson has created a nice franchise for himself and Daniel Craig, who stars as detective Benoit Blanc. The first film was a straight up cozy mystery, while the second had elements of paranoia. The third entry, Wake Up Dead Man, is again treading along the cozy paths but with a lot more thematic ambition than the other two films. Mostly it works, but when it does not, it is noticeable. Aided by another all-star cast, led by the formidable Josh O’Connor, Glen Close and Josh Brolin, this entry finds Blanc investigating a murder at a small church in New York state.

This is a case Blanc, always the most capable of detectives, struggles to wrap his impressive intellect around. As usual, there are a large number of suspects, all with competing motives, means and opportunity. Yet, one of the central mysteries in this installment, is just how the murder was pulled off, because this is a locked room type mystery. Further, it is one in which the audience sees each moment of the event. This has the effect of engaging and potentially confounding viewers.

This is a film with a lot of important themes, but which is sometimes, as was the case with Glass Onion, a bit too clever for its own good. Where the first film in the series was tight, this is expansive. It is a choice that works marvelously well for character beats, but makes the tension and intrigue wear a little thin by the end. Indeed, the climax of the story is drawn out in ways that bend the film.

Courtesy Netflix

The above-mentioned themes include truth, anger, avarice, grace, and examinations of how politics, religion and media intersect and corrupt one another. There is much that is both of the zeitgeist and eternal. As the lead character, Josh O’Connor carries much of the burden here, playing a young priest re-assigned to the small-town parish where the murder takes place. This is a more comedic entry in the series, yet at the same time, the most serious of all, and O’Connor pulls off his role effortlessly. The scenes with him and Brolin, or Close, but also Craig and Jeffrey Wright, provide humor and pathos in equal measure.

This may also be the most visually resplendent work Johnson has done since his work on Breaking Bad. Here, his camera captures details in every level of the scene, little clues and notes that either help decipher various mysteries or provide a sense of place. There are few wasted frames. The musical score is serviceable, while the editing is smooth. But, being a Knives Out movie, this is really about the cast and the script.

Courtesy Netflix

This is a very strong script, yet it does have a tendency to overreach and go for the second or third twist when something simpler and more straight forward could have had a greater impact. The cast, which also includes Kerry Washington, Mila Kunis, Cailey Spaeny, Andrew Scott and Thomas Hayden Church, among others, is a utilized differently here than in the rest of the series. We get to know these characters not through Blanc’s investigation but through the words of the prime suspect, which could have created an opportunity for unreliable narrator conflicts to come into play. But this is not that film.

Instead, it is as so much of this series has been, which is a playground for fun, slightly offbeat classic mystery tropes. Each of the characters is a full character, yet also an archetype, and played with commitment by each and all. As the most odious of the congregation, Daryl McCormack’s Cy is the most hissable opportunist in Johnson’s filmography. His character, in fact, is where nearly half the commentary and themes come into focus. To say more would be to spoil the experience, so let it be said: if you enjoyed the other films, see this. If you love a good mystery, or a meditation on the themes listed above, certainly go see it.

GRADE B 

WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY IS NOW SHOWING IN THEATERS AND WILL BE STREAMING ON NETFLIX ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12