Just in time for spooky season, Rian Johnson delivers another chapter in the best franchise in Hollywood. This time, we are gifted with a gothic tale of morality and a meditation on the power of hate speech. This film is certainly the darkest out of the three, and it offers an ending I feel does more harm than good. As Johnson explores how evil can permeate even the alleged holiest of places (the church), I feel he leaves viewers with a conclusion that lacks accountability for wrongdoing.
The return of Benoit Blanc is nothing short of thrilling; Daniel Craig will be forever known for his charismatic portrayal as the un-foolable detective. In this mystery, he is thrust into a morally bankrupt ensemble of suspects, steeped in faith, dark secrets and a whole lot of bad behaviour. The murder investigation goes beyond catching a killer; Blanc is confronted with the question of whether goodness in the most corrupt person can be found and restored through the practice of good faith and grace.
This installment is definitely the most ambitious of the three; clever twists, red herrings, razor-sharp dialogue and comedic punches are still intact. And visually, with its gothic imagery, classic secluded location and religious symbols, the transition to horror-mystery-comedy reaches perfection. What makes this experience different is Johnson’s fearlessness in confronting the power of words on the most vulnerable subjects. Jefferson Wicks, played by Josh Brolin, weaponizes his position as a priest and the words of God to make his followers angrier and lose touch with reality. They are all people who have lost so much life and are desperate for guidance and connection, and their belief in a higher power, their only connection to purpose, has been turned against them.
What I loved about this story is the lesson in how easy it is to take advantage of vulnerable people and how much harder it is to get them to believe in the possibility of ‘good.’ The Reverend (Josh O’Connor), despite being brutalised by his church goers, never gives up his faith in overcoming the issues that separate us from our personal humanity. What I didn’t love was how it ended because the message I received is if you repent for your sins in the eyes of God, you will be absolved of those sins. This, of course, is only true to a believer which is a big reason they did bad things in the first place because they know the rules of reality don’t actually apply to them. This is the only part of the film that fell flat for me, other than that, 10/10 and give me 100 more of this masterpiece of a franchise.
Wake Up, Dead Man is playing at TIFF ’25. For more information, click here.
