Loved the third Knives Out film...

Wake Up Dead Man is excellent. And not just because it contains explicit tributes to John Dickson Carr and the locked-room mystery (somewhat expected given how much of a Carr fan Rian Johnson has become in recent years). Or because Josh O’Connor’s hangdog expressions are always so sexy. This one is well paced, funny when you don’t expect it to be (given the ecclesiastical setting, and Benoit Blanc’s lack of belief, they have much fun with dialogue like this: “We’ve got to nail the real killer… I’m sorry, I mean catch him…”) … and also poignant and empathetic when you don’t expect it to be. (A scene where O’Connor’s Pastor Jud interrupts important business to take time out to provide solace to a woman who has started unburdening herself on the phone… it could have been pedantic, or an obvious attempt to make a point about the young priest – but it manages to feel right and be moving.) And of course there are some nice twists towards the end. Very good stuff. 

 

P.S. Rian Johnson’s love for Carr notwithstanding, he does offer a greatly simplified version of the “locked-room lecture” from The Hollow Man. Gideon Fell is very clear while delivering the lecture that he isn’t covering anywhere near all of the possibilities and solutions.