Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Review: Josh O’Connor Takes Us to Church

Disclaimer: This early review will not contain major spoilers for the film.

Forgive me, Father, for I am about to confess my sinful love for this film in detail.

It is all too easy to be swept up in the chorus of rain pelting the stained glass of this neogothic church, the gusts of dry leaves blowing through its doors, and oh, how those floorboards creak under the weight of prying eyes.

That is the irresistible, haunting portrait Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery paints.

“This is a murder dressed as a miracle,” Benoit Blanc declares upon entering the sacred grounds of his latest investigation. Indeed, it is a miracle to watch this third film pull off the impossible and deliver a delightful sequel.

This Knives Out installment pays its respects at the foot of Harlan Thromby’s grave with a mystery that revels in the chill of a crisp fall night and the anguished cries of the dead.

This gothic delight begins with its first of many entertaining cameos, as Josh O’Connor’s Father Jud is caught up in a violent act, and his mentor (Jeffrey Wright) bails him out.

Jud eagerly accepts his mentor’s ultimatum to work under Msgr. Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). In his desperation, our scrappy lead refuses to heed the warnings about Wick’s dedicated following. Until the father’s “flock of wicked wolves” blame Jud for Wicks’ death.

What unfolds next is a tale told from several unreliable narratives and a homage to the famous locked-room mystery.

Literature’s greatest mystery authors have illustrated many ways the “classic impossible murder” can be committed, and Blanc resurrects each method in hopes of proving Jud’s innocence.

At the best of times, it is a feast of laughable detective tomfoolery between Blanc and Jud.

Yet, underneath the outlandish and often physical comedy, there is a supernatural Edgar Allan Poe lilt that strays from reason.

When Rian Johnson takes us to church, he takes us to the most macabre ruins of worship he can find. As such, the church is as much a player in this mystery as any suspect.

The Thromby Estate thrives in the shadows of this rotting church, with its looming gabled roofs and winding hallways, dusty with the decay of decade-old scandals. Underneath the cracked stone altar is a thrum of ugly rage, pulsing in the empty wooden pews and threads of Wicks’ purple robes.

Wake Up Dead Man amplifies our horror in seeing a corrupt church echo the hatred and self-serving nature of modern preachers. The chill beyond the thick wooden doors amplifies the nefarious goings-on until this setting becomes a clever misdirection.

Is this murder the work of miracles or vengeful spirits? Or is there a man-made evil capable of defying such human comprehension? 

The angry rain pelting the roof and the disembodied lanterns twinking in the depths of the forest will force us to keep guessing until the final reveal.

Every great murder needs a closet capable of concealing its skeletons, and this neglected church is more than up for the task.

It also needs a lead that can rival Ana de Armas’s breakout performance from the first film, and Josh O’Connor is the man for the job.

Father Jud is a black sheep priest desperate to leave his previous career as a fighter behind. He preaches all that is good about organized religion and sees his punishment as a chance to change Wicks’ hateful ways.

He scrapes through this film with a gentle determination that endears Blanc from their first meeting. The film’s best moments are not spent unmasking the murderer, but rather overcoming the barriers between Blanc’s religious disdain and Jud’s quiet empathy.

One of the strongest performances comes when Jud calls a local contractor to extort information, but instead leaves Blance to take the grieving secretary’s confessional.

O’Connor ensures Jud sticks out like a sore thumb in this ensemble for all the right reasons. Yet, despite all his best attributes on display, he delivers a performance that constantly has us questioning Jud’s innocence.

Glenn Close is hot on O’Connor’s heels for best performance, however.

With her theatrical expertise, Close breathes wicked life into Martha Delacroix, the religious old-guard who has devoted herself to keeping the church’s secrets.

Kerry Washington and Andrew Scott also deliver notable performances. Meanwhile, Wright plays a minor cameo but has, hands down, the best delivery of any line in the film.

Alas, in the wake of such accolades, most of Wake Up Dead Man’s ensemble work is overshadowed.

O’Connor is so exemplary that the film misses chances to develop the other suspects to match his height. Even Blanc feels more like a backseat detective than ever before, and that becomes frustrating when these films are our only glimpse into who the detective is outside his work.

Jud is the star for better or for worse — and the worse is that we don’t get much of a sense of who anyone else is.

Even so, Johnson is still keeping his knives sharp and his storytelling even sharper.

The circumstances may change, but Johnson insists on keeping three key elements of success: the underdog lead, Benoit Blanc’s tickling accent, and a setting with a rich capacity for mystery.

Yet, Wake Up Dead Man also explores the boundaries of our beliefs. It forces us into a corner, leaving us desperate for Blanc to bring reason to the impossible. For every scene he struggles to do so, the unease surrounding this mystery grows.

The familiar cadences of Knives Out beckon us towards what we know, as this third film celebrates the darkest corners of the murder mystery genre.

While many may die at the hands of these mysteries, Knives Out will not succumb to the typical franchise pitfalls any time soon.

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How excited are you for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery? Share your thoughts in the comments below and check out our review of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery right here.

And be sure to check out the cast’s exclusive Q&A from the TIFF world premiere!

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