Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery – Rian Johnson’s Gothic Gambit Redefines the Whodunit
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By Rasesh Patell
Founder & Chief Critic, CharotarDaily.com
Let’s be honest: franchises usually die a slow, repetitive death. By the third installment, most series are content to simply play the hits, regurgitating the same formulas that worked the first time around. When Rian Johnson announced Wake Up Dead Man, the third entry in the Benoit Blanc saga, I was skeptical. Glass Onion was a maximalist, colorful satire of modern tech-bro hubris, but could Johnson pull the rug out from under us a third time without the trick feeling cheap?
I sat down in the theater with my notebook, ready to be entertained but expecting diminishing returns. Two hours and twenty minutes later, I walked out into the night air absolutely floored.
Wake Up Dead Man is not just a sequel; it is a tonal deconstruction of the cozy mystery genre itself. It trades the autumnal warmth of Massachusetts and the sun-drenched satire of Greece for a misty, claustrophobic, Gothic horror aesthetic that chills the bones. This is Johnson maturing, Steve Yedlin (Cinematographer) painting with shadows, and Daniel Craig delivering the most nuanced performance of his career.
Here is my deep-dive analysis of why this film is a masterclass in subversion.
Direction & Tone: The Shift to Gothic Noir
If Knives Out was Agatha Christie and Glass Onion was a puzzle box, Wake Up Dead Man is pure Daphne du Maurier meets The Wicker Man. Rian Johnson has made a bold directorial choice here: he has turned down the volume on the dialogue and turned up the volume on the atmosphere.
The film is set in a converted, crumbling monastery on the Isle of Skye, now the estate of reclusive literary titan Dame Olivia Thorne (Glenn Close). From the opening shot—a long, slow-pan drone shot descending through thick fog toward the jagged spires of the estate—Johnson establishes a sense of dread that never lifts.
What struck me most was Johnson’s use of verticality in his direction. In previous films, the danger was horizontal—people running through hallways or across islands. Here, the danger is vertical. The camera frequently looks down from dizzying heights (the bell tower) or up from the claustrophobic crypts.
Key Scene Analysis: The "Resurrection Dinner."
About thirty minutes in, we get the requisite dinner scene. But unlike the chaotic shouting matches of the previous films, Johnson directs this with suffocating silence. He uses static shots, holding the camera uncomfortably long on Josh O’Connor’s trembling hands or Glenn Close’s icy stare. The only sound is the clinking of silverware and the howling wind. It creates a tension so thick it feels physical. This is confident direction; Johnson trusts the audience enough to let the silence do the work.
Cinematography: Painting in Chiaroscuro
Steve Yedlin, Johnson’s longtime collaborator, deserves an Oscar nomination for his work here. The visual language of Wake Up Dead Man is a stark departure from the digital crispness of Glass Onion.
Yedlin employs a heavy use of Chiaroscuro lighting—high contrast between light and dark. There is a specific recurring motif of candlelight. In the second act, during the power outage sequence, the film is lit almost entirely by practical firelight. This renders the characters as flickering ghosts, their intentions obscured by shadow.
Technical Highlight: The Mirror Maze sequence.
There is a pivotal conversation between Benoit Blanc and the local vicar (played brilliantly by Andrew Scott) that takes place in a conservatory filled with antique mirrors. Yedlin shoots this handheld. As Blanc circles the suspect, the camera catches Blanc’s reflection fracturing into multiple slivers. It is a visual metaphor for the detective’s own fragmented understanding of the case at that moment. It’s not just "cool" looking; it is cinematography serving the narrative.
Screenplay: The Structure of Belief
As a writer, Johnson is known for the "donut hole" metaphors, but here, the screenplay tackles a heavier theme: Faith vs. Fact.
The script is tighter than Glass Onion. It sheds the pop-culture references (thankfully, no more Jeremy Renner hot sauce jokes) in favor of literary allusions and theological debates. The mystery hinges on a "miracle"—the apparent resurrection of a character we saw die in the cold open.
Johnson’s genius lies in how he structures the reveal. Usually, the "Howcatchem" format shows us the killer early. Here, the script hides the nature of the crime. We don’t know if we are watching a murder, a suicide, or a supernatural event until the third act.
However, the screenplay isn't perfect. I argue that the second act drags slightly. There is a subplot involving a missing codicil to a will that feels a bit "Estate Law 101," a trope Johnson usually twists but here plays straight. It’s a minor blemish on an otherwise razor-sharp script, but it did cause the pacing to sag around the 70-minute mark.
The Performances: A Triumvirate of Talent
The acting in Wake Up Dead Man is, without hyperbole, the best of the trilogy. The ensemble is smaller, allowing for deeper character work.
1. Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc
We finally see the cracks in the veneer. In the previous films, Blanc was an unflappable observer. Here, faced with a case that defies logic and touches on the supernatural, Craig plays Blanc as genuinely rattled.
Specific Example:* The "Confessional" scene. Blanc is trapped in the monastery’s crypt. Craig drops the Southern drawl for a split second, whispering in sheer panic, before composing himself. It’s a masterclass in physical acting—showing the fear behind the flamboyant persona. We see a Blanc who is aging, tired, and perhaps afraid of the dark.
2. Glenn Close as Dame Olivia Thorne
Glenn Close is a force of nature. She plays the matriarch not as a villain, but as a woman so consumed by her own legacy that she has lost touch with humanity.
Specific Example:* Her monologue on the cliffs regarding "the immortality of art." She delivers it not with shouting, but with a terrifyingly quiet resolve. When she tells Blanc, " The dead don't wake up, Mr. Blanc, unless we need them to," the delivery sent shivers down my spine. She brings a Shakespearean gravitas that anchors the film’s wilder plot twists.
3. Josh O’Connor as Father Thomas
The breakout performance. O’Connor (of The Crown and Challengers fame) plays the nephew turned priest. He is a bundle of nervous, twitchy energy. He serves as the foil to Blanc—where Blanc represents logic, Father Thomas represents blind faith. O’Connor’s ability to switch from pathetic vulnerability to menacing fanaticism in a single scene is extraordinary.
Comparative Analysis: Contextualizing the Film
To truly understand Wake Up Dead Man, we must look at where it sits in cinema history.
Against the Genre: While Knives Out was a tribute to Sleuth (1972) and Glass Onion nodded to The Last of Sheila (1973), this film feels deeply indebted to Hitchcock’s and Clouzot’s Diabolique. It utilizes the "gaslighting" trope but subverts it by having the detective be the one who is unsure of his reality.
Against Johnson’s Career: This is Johnson returning to the noir roots of his debut, Brick. It has that same hard-boiled cynicism, stripped of the Star Wars blockbuster gloss. It proves that Johnson is at his best when he is deconstructing genres from the inside out, rather than playing in someone else's sandbox.
The Final Verdict
Wake Up Dead Man is a daring, visually stunning, and emotionally resonant conclusion to the "Benoit Blanc" era (if this is indeed the end). It refuses to give the audience the comfortable, cozy mystery they expected. Instead, it offers a meditation on death, legacy, and the lies we tell ourselves to survive.
Is it as "fun" as the first one? No. It is heavier, slower, and darker. But it is a far superior piece of filmmaking. It proves that a franchise film can still be art.
CharotarDaily Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5)
Who Should Watch This?
I believe in providing actionable advice for my readers. This movie is not for everyone.
Watch this if:
You appreciate Cinema over Movies: If you care about lighting composition, blocking, and sound design, this is a feast.
You love Gothic Romance/Horror: Fans of Crimson Peak or Rebecca will feel right at home with the atmosphere.
You want to see Daniel Craig act: If you want to see him do more than just shoot guns or deliver one-liners, this explores his range.
Skip this if:
You want a fast-paced comedy: This is not Glass Onion. The jokes are sparse and dark. If you are looking for light escapism, this might feel too heavy.
You have a short attention span: The pacing is deliberate. It requires patience.
