Rating of
3/4
American Gothic Murder Mystery
Chris Kavan - wrote on 12/14/25
Wake Up Dead Man is the third modern mystery directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daniel Craig as the Southern detective Benoit Blanc.
This time around a small community and a flagging church are the setting as Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor) is sent to Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude presided over by Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) and his small congregation - small because the Monsignor seems very good at driving most people away. His fiery temperament is derived partly from the death of his mother Grace Wicks (Annie Hamilton) who was dubbed the "harlot whore" and is a frequent target of his incendiary preaching. After the death of his grandfather, the Reverend Prentice Wicks (James Faulkner), Grace was due an inheritance but quickly learned it was hidden away leading to her ransacking the church. The rock of this church, Martha (Glenn Close) witnessed it all as a child and now steadfastly stands by Wicks and keeps things running.
The few parishioners left include Dr. Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), broken after his wife left him with his kids; Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), a once-popular science fiction author now obsessed with writing a book based on Wicks and his sermons; lawyer Vera Draven (Kerry Washington) daughter of a close friend of Wicks who stays in town due to a sense of purpose as well as Cy (Daryl McCormack) who she was made to adopt when he was 10 and has now become a hardcore conservative personality; and Simone Vivane (
Cailee Spaeny) a talented cellist who has suffered a debilitating, painful condition she hopes the good Wicks can cure through faith (and money). Rounding out the talented cast we find Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church) the long-standing church groundskeeper and probable lover of Martha and police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) who is in over her head when she calls in Blanc for an assist.
If there is one thing all three films get right it is assembling an absolute dynamite cast and keeping the mystery entertaining to go along with them. Wake Up Dead Man probably has the most interesting mystery yet, with the good Monsignor dying seemingly alone in a room and then resurrecting days later. Of course, the mystery wouldn't be complete without some good old dark secrets and in this group, everyone has something to hide - or hide from - and the revelations are great. The film dares venture into more heady territory covering religion, misogyny and the more modern conservative movement in general. While it doesn't get overbearing, it's there and I can see a certain segment of the population getting up in arms over this point (oh woe is them).
The only reason I think this effort is a slight step down is that despite another knockout cast, the characters don't seem as well-rounded and developed. Even at nearly 2 and a half hours, I wanted more depth and less exposition. At times some of the speeches went on a touch too long and this, being a darker entry, didn't wasn't nearly as, well, fun. But in the end, Johnson still crafts another amazing mystery with a plenty of twists along the way. If you have enjoyed the first two Knives Out films, this is still a great series and I, for one, hope we get more Benoit Blanc going forward.
