As with the other Knives Out mysteries, in Wake Up Dead Man, writer-director Rian Johnson teases the viewer to solve the “impossible murder case” and discover not so much who did it but why. This dark offbeat third installment takes place in New York at an ailing Catholic parish with a flamboyant and offensive pastor, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). In contrast to the power-absorbed Wicks, a young Father Jud Dupenticy (Josh O’Connor) is sent to “wake up the parish.” Johnson, who grew up a devout Protestant but does not currently follow his faith, says he was often personally curious about Catholicism. “It always seemed exotic,” he says, but sees this story as a way to understand that sin is in all of us and we all wrestle with our humanity. The story is about a murder that happens in the parish but it’s also about the temptation of wealth, the value of love over violence, and the vocation of caring for souls.
At the beginning of the story, Father Jud, a former boxer who lived on the streets, hears from his superiors that priests are to fight the world. He disagrees. He states that “Christ came to heal the world, not fight it,” and he takes this belief as his guide as he tries to overcome his own violent nature. These words are his anchor when he arrives at Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude where Wicks greets him saying that they must fight for the faith because they are constantly under attack. Jud witnesses Wicks’ anger in the pulpit with his fiery sermons that either push parishioners away or make them dependent on him.
We meet Wicks’ few loyal parishioners who, along with Father Jud, become suspects in the murder investigation. The cast of characters is impressive. Johnson says each of the characters represents a place where he’s been in his life. Father Jud goes about meeting each of the parishioners to hear their stories. Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close) takes care of everything in the parish from tidying the sacristy, to playing the organ for liturgy, doing all the office work, and even cooking for Wicks. The groundskeeper Samson (Thomas Hayden Church) is sweet on Martha. Vera (Kerry Washington), a lawyer, resentfully takes care of her half brother Cy (Daryl McCormack) who seeks to enter politics through inciting outrage on social media. Simone (Cailee Spaeny) is a concert cellist who suffers from chronic pain. Wicks manipulates her into believing he can cure her. Lee Ross (Andrew Scott) is a former sci-fi writer who sees Wicks as a prophet. Then there is Doctor Ned Sharp (Jeremy Renner) whose wife recently left him, causing him to spiral into depression.
When the murder happens in the church, the dexterous Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) arrives to investigate the “impossible case.” Seeing Father Jud in the church, Blanc goes on a diatribe about his lack of belief. Despite their differences, he and Jud go about trying to solve the case, often discussing faith and even arguing about vocational purpose. Director Rian Johnson says that Blanc and Jud “are going to form this friendship throughout…and Blanc is going to end up learning from Father Jud by the end.” He says, “I have Father Jud and also Blanc inside of me and they’re in constant dialogue like that. That scene in the movie is kind of, for me, a conversation within myself, and I think to some extent most of us have that conversation happening inside ourselves constantly.” Blanc sees love and sincerity in Jud and the hypocrisy in Wicks. Through multiple convoluted turns of events, Blanc discovers a mystery deeper than the murder he’s investigating.
Though there is some offensive language in the film, the script allows for sacramental elements to shine forth a truth that breaks through the darkness of human frailty and sin. Father Scott Bailey, a priest from Archdiocese of Denver and a consultant on the script, says that even though priests are represented as flawed human beings in the story, it does show what priesthood is all about. He says, “Ministry is one on one, meeting people where they are and always discovering how to bring love into this [situation].” Father Jud does that. In the middle of a murder investigation, he drops everything when he gets a phone call from a woman in pastoral need. His vocation becomes central because he puts Christ at the center, figuratively and actually. In a wild and crazy way, Wake Up Dead Man profoundly addresses authenticity and what it means to have a heart of service.