Film Review: WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY (2025): Rian Johnson’s Loudest and Most Twisted Entry Yet in This Creative Mystery/Suspense Franchise
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Review
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Josh Brolin, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church, Jeffrey Wright, Annie Hamilton, James Faulkner, Bridget Everett, Noah Segan and Kit Burden.
Rian Johnson’s third entry in the Knives Out franchise, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, is his most deranged and suspenseful film in the series. It is led by three absolutely terrific performances. Although the suspense is nail-biting at times, there’s much quirkiness here and a twisted sense of humor that is employed by the filmmaker in the relatively substantial material that is at the director’s helm.
There are three standout performances. There’s Josh Brolin’s bravura, over-the-top turn as Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, perhaps the creepiest and most inappropriate priest we’ve seen on film to date. Then, there’s Glenn Close in her showiest role since playing Cruella De Vil in the old 101 Dalmatians movies as a passionate and opinionated older woman named Martha Delacroix who thinks graffiti penises are spaceships at the movie’s start. Finally, the always sensational Josh O’Connor plays Father Jud Duplenticy, the new priest under the Monsignor’s wing in a small upstate New York town.
Daniel Craig is technically the lead, but the fact that the other three turns in the movie best his fine work here is evidence that this movie has talent to spare and then some. Once again, Craig serves as Benoit Blanc who is on the case and ready to use his excellent detective skills to find out which one of the Monsignor’s parishioners is guilty of murder.
This film opens with a crazed woman destroying the inside of a church before dying an untimely death. Martha weaves this old tale of a lunatic lady who she encountered as a young girl. This film weaves its story around Good Friday during Easter weekend and uses rain storms and, at one point, dreams/visions to tell its suspenseful tale. Father Jud is the picture’s main suspect in the death of the Monsignor, but this movie plays its cards right by never really letting us think he’s the primary suspect in the murder. We follow him right from the beginning when Bishop Langstrom (Jeffrey Wright) assigns him to work with the Monsignor.
Brolin chews scenery as the type of priest one would walk out on during a service. In fact, quite a few walk out as he talks about sin and embracing our devilish sides at mass during a sermon. After his death, this priest still plays a key role in the plot through many twists in the story line, including one where he doesn’t seem to be in the tomb where his body is supposed to be residing.
There is a colorful series of supporting characters, at least one of whom will also end up dead as the plot progresses. They include the groundskeeper, Samson (Thomas Haden Church), a cellist named Simone (Cailee Spaeny), a struggling fiction writer, Lee (Andrew Scott), a lawyer named Vera (Kerry Washington), Dr. Nathaniel Sharp (Jeremy Renner) and Cy (Daryl McCormack), a failed politician. On the trail of the murderer is also Chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis). Each person mentioned could be guilty of some kind of wrongdoing as we watch and try to figure out who the worst culprit in the bunch really is.
Glenn Close is so very good in her intense scenes within this mystery/thriller. Martha must switch a drink that has most likely been poisoned towards the film’s climax. Martha discusses her burden of holding the secret to the story known as “Eve’s apple.” Close takes this role by the horns and revels in it as the movie takes the audience on a roller coaster ride of twists and turns that will not be revealed here.
It’s tempting to tell the viewer which other specific characters to keep an eye on, but that would certainly ruin the fun of the movie. Although some of the characterizations feel exaggerated such as Brolin’s and Close’s, they are larger than life and leap off the screen with energy, giving off tense vibes that will make taking a bathroom break during this lengthy mystery movie almost impossible.
Josh O’Connor is the film’s MVP. He’s essentially the most relatable character in the movie through most of the action despite his flaws. O’Connor carries the film through a two-and-a-half hour running time with ease. O’Connor has done some solid work the past couple of years (see: The Mastermind) and this current performance is certainly no exception. Kunis and Spaeny may feel a bit underused, but are still quite enjoyable in their brief roles here. Renner, Scott, Washington and McCormack have more meat in their characterizations than the other two aforementioned ladies and chew into their roles just enough to keep them relevant to the film’s story line, ultimately enhancing the movie’s entertainment value a significant amount.
Glass Onion, the second film in the series, is still the best in the franchise. Craig’s role in the action in the newest film feels curiously reduced. With his beard and best detective demeanor, Craig seems to just be there for moral support for the other actors to take charge. Though Craig is in fine form, he’s hardly the scene stealer here. Close is certainly in the running to get nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the new picture, and if she gets the nod, it would be well-deserved. Close makes her quirky character a memorable one in the best mystery that you’ll see this holiday season. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery doesn’t disappoint as it goes through its plot twists one at a time in a surprisingly wicked and relentless fashion.
Rating: 8/10
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