‘Hugs, not fists’ faith
Review of "Wake Up Dead Man," directed by Rian Johnson.
Wake Up Dead Man
Directed by Rian Johnson
2025.
Hollywood seldom portrays faith well. On one hand are glossy depictions of near-perfect characters who prosper if they pray hard, look right and win enough converts. On the other hand, Christianity is displayed as destructive and colonial. What happens to the stories in the middle, the ones that expose the harm of the church while showing how an alternate, more loving faith is possible? Wake Up Dead Man, the latest Knives Out movie, lands in this cinematic sweet spot, portraying the bad, ugly and good of Christian faith.
Famed detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) tackles a locked-door whodunit in the sanctuary of Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. There are the usual murder mystery tropes: eclectic suspects, stormy weather as plot device, and a three-piece-suit charmer detective. The mystery is clever and cinematography brilliant, but the movie’s particular appeal is how it grapples with the follies that can come with faith.
Comedy and depth
The second Knives Out film, Glass Onion, focused on comedy more than depth, but Wake Up Dead Man contains both. It portrays two forms of Christianity: the religious zeal of a sexually-corrupt leader whose charisma wins over people and, conversely, a leader who struggles with sin but chooses love, humility and servant leadership. The former is Monsieur Wicks (Josh Brolin), a fist-pounding preacher surrounded by loyal followers. He builds power by scapegoating others in sermons, convincing followers to donate all their time and money to his cause, and blackmailing those who confess sins. Meanwhile, the village’s new preacher Father Jud (Josh O’Connor) displays loving leadership but is not welcome in town. When Wicks dies in the middle of a church service, Jud is the lead suspect.
Blanc arrives to solve the mystery and believes Jud innocent. Jud himself is swept up in solving the mystery and clearing his own name, almost losing sight of his pastoral vocation while doing so. Blanc does not understand Jud’s faith commitment, but begrudgingly respects it. Meanwhile, Jud never forces religion on Blanc. While Blanc ends the film “a proud heretic,” he recognizes that Jud’s Christ-like model of love and grace is something each person can extend to their neighbour.
Murder will out
Refreshingly, Father Jud’s character is neither perfect nor pretentious. A former boxer, he swears in angry outbursts, punches another preacher and forgets his sobriety vow. Yet he moves beyond his violent past by advocating a “hugs, not fists” faith, and encourages others to open their arms instead of raise their hands as weapons. When he falls short, he repents and re-commits to a peaceful disposition.
Although raised Christian, the movie’s director Rian Johnson no longer considers himself religious. In a CBC interview he notes that for him, faith was formative from childhood to early adulthood. Echoes of this influence weave into his storytelling. Some might regard using the Christian passion story as a plot device as sacrilegious; the timeline revolves around the Easter weekend and plays with elements from Jesus’ death and resurrection. But the film emphasizes the real-life blasphemy of using faith as a weapon and means of self-promotion.
By the end, when the murder’s truth is revealed, Jud and Blanc discover that a key part of the mystery centers around a valuable gemstone. Jud returns this wealth to Jesus by placing the jewel inside the church’s wall-mounted cross. He demonstrates a commitment to making the church a welcoming sanctuary where every visitor is treated with grace, wealth does not sow fractures and humility is chosen over selfishness.
Wake Up Dead Man is a refreshing cinematic take on how charismatic leaders can be corrupted by power while also demonstrating how an alternative, more loving form of Christianity is not only possible but necessary.
