WAKE UP DEAD MAN

This is the third film in the Knives Out series of murder mysteries, and having been disappointed by Benoit Blanc's second outing ('Glass Onion') I was hoping for better things this time around.

The setting is a small community which seems to revolve around the local church and the larger-than-life priest there, Jefferson Wicks, played by Josh Brolin.  Due to his charisma he has established something of a cult-like following with a small group of parishioners, and he is not best pleased when a young trainee priest, Jud, is foist upon him, played by Josh O'Connor.

Inevitably Wicks is murdered, Jud is the main suspect, and Blanc turns up to try to identify the real killer.  

This film harks back to the classic detective tales of the 1920s and 1930s (think Agatha Christie) but the mystery of Wicks' murder falls short in several ways.

Although we do have a small group of suspects (an important requisite), ideally each should have a strong motive for committing the murder, but in this case that's a bit of a stretch. In fact some of the characters, such as the writer played by Andrew Scott, are never fleshed out enough to make much of a contribution.

It's also fairly obvious from the outset that Martha (played by Glenn Close) is going to play a key part in the resolution of the mystery, given that she has been working for the church for years and effectively runs the place.

So this is more of a howdunnit than a whodunnit - how (and why) is Wicks killed, and how on earth does he seem to rise from the dead several days later?

The answers to all these puzzles are enjoyably ingenious (even if they sometimes stretch credulity) and writer/director Rian Johnson does a good job of keeping us off balance and bringing things to an exciting conclusion.

At one point Blanc comes upon a list of crime novels which he feels might help solve the mystery.  As a fan of golden age detective fiction this got me excited even if the idea isn't developed as much as I would have hoped.

I get why 'The Hollow Man' is there, given that it contains a list of the various ways in which a murder can be committed in an apparently locked room, which Blanc refers to. 

And I presume 'The Murder At The Vicarage' and 'Whose Body?' are on the list because their titles are apposite.

'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' is famous for featuring (maybe for the first time?) an unreliable narrator.  This is true of Jud, who leaves out an important detail when taking Blanc through the sequence of events around Wicks' death.

'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', has a claim to being the first ever detective story, so maybe that explains its presence on the list, although given that the killer in the story turns out to be an orangutan (!) it doesn't seem obviously relevant.

Part of my dissatisfaction with 'Glass Onion' was that it was set in a world of shallow and unlikeable celebrities, whereas this film feels more grounded.  There's some real substance to the to-and-fro between Jud and Blanc as to the nature and value of faith.  Crucial to this is a very good performance by O'Connor, who is well cast in the role.  

On top of all this Blanc displays an amazing array of men's clothing throughout, so what's not to like?

RATING: ✓✓ Good Times