There's something about hearing Benoit Blanc's name that assures you can expect a fully hashed-out mystery. A mystery so absorbing that you're willing to hang on to every word and detail as you watch. You know you get to sit back (but not relax), put your phone away and sink into a good brainteaser that you're trying to solve -- along with Benoit Blanc.
Rian Johnson's newest film in the series, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, isn't a ho-hum pedestrian walk, and it isn't like any of the movies before it (although those were good, too). It's an ingenious, witty thriller that begs you to jump in and start making a list of suspects. Cue the whiteboard, mathematical equations and a side of introspection, because the film dives into politics, generational trauma and religious faith versus good ol' logic.
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Josh O'Connor plays the young Reverend Jud Duplenticy, a good-tempered former boxer who is still dealing with his past -- he often brings up how he killed someone in the ring, and it's the reason he turned to the priesthood. The film is set in a small town in upstate New York, where Jud is sent after he gets in trouble for punching a priest (yes, on the job). O'Connor adds a disarming, personable quality to the role that puts you at ease, but also reminds you that his hands can be weapons.
Upon arrival at his church assignment, he meets Josh Brolin's Monsignor Jefferson Wicks -- the Monsignor title is pretentiously important -- who takes his job very seriously. Their first conversation, which is both funny and eyebrow-raising, shows you exactly what kind of person Wicks is, and you either believe he'll be the victim or at the top of the suspect list. He's the kind of priest who delivers sermons with spit, fury and harsh judgment flying out of his mouth all at once to his congregation, earning himself fans and foes. That flock includes Kerry Washington as local lawyer Vera, Jeremy Renner as Dr. Nat Sharp, Cailee Spaeny (who plays a former cellist), Glenn Close as a deliciously zealous church member and former hot priest himself, Andrew Scott, as a down-on-his-luck author.
What's Jud doing with blood on his hands?
NetflixThey're all in deep with Wicks, for various reasons. We spend some time with all of them, learning about the church, its cultish ways and who's who and to whom when the monsignor drops dead in the middle of a church service.
Daniel Craig returns once again as Detective Benoit Blanc, who appears midway through the film after he's summoned to help with the murder case. He lets Jud team up with him to track down the killer, regardless of the fact that the guilt-ridden cleric is a suspect himself. With a nod to Agatha Christie's book, The Hollow Man, the investigation gets underway.
Craig is compelling with his Southern dialect and poker-faced sleuthing, while Brolin and O'Connor make convincing polar opposite priests. But we also get a wickedly funny -- and sometimes frightening -- performance from Glenn Close, which you've had a taste of in the trailer as her character, Martha, is sickened that kids keep spray-painting rocket ships on cemetery grounds.
The movie's narrative critiques exploitative and manipulative forms of religion, while also offering more grounded, heartfelt human perspectives through its characters. There's a play of light and dark in the cinematography that serves as both comic relief and a subtle nod to its religious themes.
Detective Blanc asks questions to the suspects, to himself and in a wink-wink way, to the viewers, too. The monsignor had secrets, a rumored fortune to inherit, devoted admirers and resentful haters. Who's guilty in this Scooby-Dooby-Doo-like mystery?
Everyone is stumped.
Can you help unravel this impossible crime? The twists and turns in this one will throw you off the investigation, so even if you can't, you'll be invested in what the hell happened.
Netflix's Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery hits theaters on Nov. 26, and arrives on the streaming service on Dec. 12.
