The first question as we settle into this type of Marple-ish mystery? How long will it be before we figure out who’s going to get whacked? It’s rarely hard to do. Someone loathsome, callous, inconsiderate. Ah, yes: here he is: Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), who presides over Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, a struggling parish in upstate New York. We know it’s Wicks because of the way he cruelly berates first-time parishioners in his Sunday sermons and antagonizes newly arrived father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) with his tediously vulgar confessions.
Father Duplenticy is also not hard to spot as the initial scapegoat. He’s a tortured soul, a former boxer who turned to the Lord after killing someone in the ring. As penance for succumbing to anger once again and clocking a fellow priest, he’s been sent upstate to see if he can help the Monsignor turn things around.
Oh, and then there’s the coterie of parishioners whose devotion to Wicks borders on the cultlike. Among them: Wick’s manically devout right-hand woman, Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), keeper of a secret involving Wicks’ grandfather. Physician Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), an embittered, alcoholic divorcee. Lawyer Vera Draven (Kerry Washington), reluctant adoptive mother to Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack), an ambitious wannabe right-wing politico and influencer. Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), who’s squandered his career as a successful writer in pursuit of penning a tell-all about Wicks.
And the murder? Mysterious. Baffling. Impossible! And, of course, unsolvable. So much so that local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) reluctantly summons renowned detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). Who himself is baffled. It’s not another locked door mystery. The Monsignor meets his end, alone, in an open alcove; all the parishioners hear him hit the floor, and upon inspection find him dead, in a spreading pool of blood, knife in his back. Only: how did the dagger get there?
See It
Like any good mystery that tempts you to be the detective, some clues will seem tantalizingly apparent and others unnoticeable on first viewing. You know the murder will be solved, and you know it ain’t Father Duplenticy who-dunit. Then who in fact done it, and how?
The Wake Up Dead Man title tempts you down an obviously blind alley. As the final events unravel and Blanc does that typical thing, where he narrates for everyone how the real murderer did the deed, it’s an adequately entertaining conclusion, made all the more memorable by both good and brilliant performances.
In the “good” category are Brolin and Craig. Brolin is just fascinatingly contemptible as he eviscerates new parishioners; his final, messianic sermon is a remarkably over-the-top display. Though Craig has never really wowed me as the mastermind detective with the oddly askew Southern drawl, he energizes otherwise calm scenes with some humor and humility as he rails against what he considers the sham of religion or admits his respect for the young father.
But in the “brilliant” category are Glenn Close and Josh O’Connor, who throw themselves into their roles without restraint. Now granted, the character of Martha Delacroix is written to be overblown, but in her final speeches Close succeeds in turning this loon into a wretch worthy of empathy. But it’s really O’Connor who shines brightest; in fact, quite literally, in one scene where the sun pulses through a church window behind him as he reminds the congregation (and us) of the grace of God. In several scenes, Father Duplenticy is called upon to render a service: take a confession, console a grieving woman, give last rites. O’Connor’s earnest performance and soft, consoling tone come off completely authentic and affecting even for nonbelievers. Duplenticy’s humility and unswerving belief even send the atheist Blanc down “the road to Damascus” in a moment of insight and acceptance.
As laden as Wake Up Dead Man is with religious undertones, neither believers nor non-believers will proclaim Hallelujah! as the credits roll, having experienced something that imbues them with new insight. Instead, enjoy it for the clever mystery mechanics and especially two inspiring performances.