WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY – Review by T.J. Callahan
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery – Touché Padre
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the third in Rian Johnson’s whodunnit series starring Daniel Craig, is now on Netflix. Famed detective Benoit Blanc travels to upstate New York and takes up residence at Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, not for confession, but to help a young priest, played by Josh O’Connor, investigate an impossible crime at this tiny church with a troubled past.
Reprising his Southern Gentleman gumshoe role, Craig seems to be experiencing an epiphany as an American Hercule Poirot in these Agatha Christie-type murder mysteries. This time O’Connor’s Father Jud puts his faith in Blanc to connect the pieces of the parish puzzle of who and why a domineering Josh Brolin as Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, was stabbed to death on Good Friday.
Did a member of his flock stray? Whose spirit was moved to commit manslaughter? Was it Satan? Or the Church Lady, Martha Delacroix, played like a frocked Frau Blucher by Glenn Close. Or could it be her groundskeeper boyfriend Samson? How about the town doctor, a bulldog lawyer or even a bestselling novelist? The list of suspects reads like a Hollywood who’s who including Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Thomas Haden Church and Mila Kunis as the police chief.
Clocking in at 2 hours and 24 minutes, this Knives Out is the longest, but it’s definitely not dull. Johnson’s sharp wit cuts through the chaos delivering a totally satisfying religious experience. While the first installment of the trilogy is still my favorite, Wake Up Dead Man is a diamond in the rough. A darkly humorous film perfect to watch while cuddled up on the couch with a warm blanket and some Communion wine. It gets four Hail Mary’s, three Our Fathers and two 👀s open from my husband Ricky.
