Movie Number 44 of 2025
The Movie: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
The Cinema: The Kino Cinema, Melbourne
Runtime: Two hours 24 minutes
Stars: 4.25
Jay suggested a Friday film. There were some suggestions of British films, but they all sounded a bit grim, and I was in the mood for something a bit lighter. It had been a big week, something funny and light was required. We settled on the latest in the Knives Out series - Wake Up Dead Man.
If you've not seen any of the Knives Out series, you'll find them on Netflix. The first one is fabulous. I don't rate the second one. But in this third in the series, writer/director Rian Johnson is back to his best. Do you have to see the other two movies in the series to enjoy this? Absolutely not - though a little bit of history about detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is not a bad thing. There are no related characters. The only similarities between the films are that they are stylish movies with killer casts.
This is a good, old fashioned detective movie, which also happens to be very funny.
The story starts off when we meet a young priest, Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor) who after getting into some skirmishes with another member of the clergy is sent out to a parish in Upstate New York to be a junior priest to a turbulent Mons Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). This bloke is on an ego trip, keeping some members of his clergy close, while driving others away. Jud and the Mons don't get on. The inner circle, consisting of Martha, the Church Secretary (Glenn Close), Nat, the gin-soaked town doctor (Jeremy Renner), Lee, a reclusive writer (Andrew Scott), Vera, a lawyer who hasn't reached her potential, her brother Cy, a wannabe MAGA styled Senate candidate (Daryl McCormack) and Simone, an ailing artist (Cailee Spaeny) are all in the thrall of the malevolent Wicks.
And then Wicks turns up dead in a locked room, during the Good Friday service after delivering the homily.
Jud is automatically the number one suspect.
This is when the investigative team comes in. Mila Kunis is Geraldine, the chief of police, who brings in the amazing Benoit Blanc to investigate.
I'm not going to go into the plot, other than it's a murder mystery in which an improbably murder takes place, and it's the absolute bomb. There are twists and turns and a lot of laughs along the way.
For those who have not witnessed Daniel Craig do a Southern accent, this is all a part of the charm. Along with the rest of the cast, their comic chops all come out. Oh, and if you haven't seen Daniel Craig in Logan Lucky, search it out. He's hysterical. I love it when you can tell an actor is having a ball.
This film also belongs to Josh O'Connor, who plays the sometimes-hapless Jud. A street kid who's found religion, Jud is both happy to sit back and let things run but also stand his ground when needed.
The rest of the cast are just as strong. Glenn Close as the conniving Church secretary and Daryl McCormack as Cy, the MAGA wannabe man-baby are stand outs. The rest of the cast are just as strong. A lot of this is thanks to Rian Johnson's air-tight script, which is as funny as is it subversive. The digs are the church and the US political climate are on point and very, very funny.
As this is a Netflix production, it will be streaming in the next few weeks put this on your Christmas viewing list. It's very entertaining. A great Friday night film - intelligent, light and funny. What more do you want?
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