“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” is the movie of the year. It’s a masterpiece with fantastic performances across the board and a moving message. There’s no doubt that “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” is real cinema, despite not being shown in theaters.
The movie follows the main character, Father Judd, as he and the recurring character Benoit Blanc try to solve the murder of the leader of a small town parish in upstate New York, Monsignor Wicks. The first 45 minutes of the film are spent learning about the six regulars, each with their own reasons for attending the church. They are all united by a desperation for a miracle to fix their issues. The first half of “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” shows the conflict between Monsignor Wicks and Father Judd and how their clash of ideologies is one of the factors that leads to Monsignor Wicks’ murder. The beginning of the movie is a well-executed setup, as every inconspicuous detail comes back to form a puzzle around the impossible murder of Monsignor Wicks.
There was not a single performance in the movie that felt jarring and created separation between the character and the actor. Benoit Blonc, played by Daniel Craig, and Father Judd, played by Josh O’Connor, were definitely the highlights of the movie, with both actors putting in masterful performances. Some other notable performances include Jeremy Renner as Nat, the town doctor, and Kerry Washington as Vera Draven. The camera work was absolutely fantastic, with so many fantastic shots.
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” is a movie about forgiveness and what that means to the individual. The film explores how Christianity and forgiveness interact with and shape the characters’ lives and opinions. The way people view forgiveness and how the characters pursue it are integral to the movie, and this is why so much time is spent learning about the characters.
What makes “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” a standout movie is how subtle the details are, yet still present enough for the audience to put together and solve. Since the subtlety of the clues makes them hard to notice, and the movie intentionally diverts attention from them, the movie has extremely high rewatch value. The other way “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” makes a rewatch more fun is by using the knowledge a viewer has about the characters after the end of the movie and applying that to their interactions at the start and middle of the movie. The story makes excellent use of regressing, progressing, and static character arcs. Overall, “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” is a phenomenal movie that inspires the viewer to be better.
