The Complexity of Queerness and Catholicism in WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY

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Rian Johnson’s Knives Out wasn’t just a smart and entertaining mystery; it launched a new film series and introduced the unforgettable detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig. Blanc quickly became iconic thanks to his distinctive accent, quirky fashion, and captivating personality. He playfully investigates the mysteries in both Knives Out and its follow-up, Glass Onion, as a detective who is both enigmatic and incredibly charming.

I was really surprised by Rian Johnson’s new Knives Out mystery, Wake Up Dead Man. It’s not just about figuring out who did it; Johnson really digs into who Benoit Blanc is as a person. Through a character played by Josh O’Connor, and the setting of a small-town church, we see a whole new side of Blanc. What’s especially powerful is how the film explores the complicated connection between being queer and practicing Catholicism – it’s a really moving and personal story.

The newest Knives Out film, Wake Up Dead Man, features a later-than-usual introduction for detective Benoit Blanc. More than thirty minutes pass before the stylish detective appears. The story begins by focusing on Father Jud Duplenticy, played by Josh O’Connor. He’s a sincere young priest from Albany who also used to be a boxer. He readily admits to Blanc and his congregation that he accidentally killed someone during a boxing match when he was seventeen.

Jud is a man devoted to Christ, but he battles with inner anger. The film opens with him explaining to a review board why he hit a church deacon after an offensive remark. Jud openly admits to past struggles with addiction, anger issues, and being homeless, but he believes his faith in Jesus has helped him turn his life around.

During Jud’s probation hearing, a priest explained that a priest should guide people, while the outside world is dangerous, and the Church needs strong people to combat that danger, not internal conflict. Jud strongly disagreed, arguing that once you start seeing enemies everywhere, you’ll end up labeling anyone you don’t understand as one.

I just love Father Jud! He’s a really messed up guy, but he’s genuinely trying to be a good person and make amends by helping others. That’s exactly what a priest should be, you know? He’s so forgiving, honest, and always thinking about others – a truly open-hearted person. It’s his ability to connect with people that gets him noticed by Bishop Langstrom, who sends him to assist Monsignor Wicks. Apparently, Wicks’ church is losing members and becoming… well, a little stuck in its ways.

Jud doesn’t understand at first why he’s being sent to Father Wicks’ church in Chimney Rock, but it soon becomes obvious: Monsignor Wicks is a harsh and unforgiving leader who controls his parish with strict authority. Unlike Jud, Wicks is cold and calculating. He tailors his sermons to target newcomers – the movie shows a single mother, a gay couple, and a woman wearing a mask – and delivers increasingly angry, judgmental messages until they leave.

Honestly, the pastor, Wicks, isn’t about faith or helping people; he’s all about control. He sees anyone trying to genuinely connect with the congregation – like Jud, who just wants to help them heal – as a problem. It’s like Wicks feels threatened by kindness! He deliberately pushes Jud’s buttons, knowing Jud is trying to escape a violent past, and eventually, predictably, that’s exactly what happens. It’s a really cynical take on power dynamics within a religious setting, and honestly, it’s pretty disturbing to watch.

Father Jud realizes that even though Wicks is dead, he still achieved a kind of victory. A part of Jud secretly feels relieved, but Wicks’s cruel and intimidating reputation continues to haunt him and the entire parish. Wicks instilled hatred within his community and pushed Jud to commit violence, ultimately leading the world to wrongly accuse Jud of murder and brand him the “Killer Priest.”

The young priest, haunted by a troubled past, seemed like the ideal person to take the blame for Wicks’ death. However, like the kind nurse Marta Cabrera in Knives Out and the devoted sister Helen Brand in Glass Onion, Father Jud is fundamentally a good man. True to his calling, he falls to his knees and prays.

Just when Jud asks Jesus for a way to be forgiven, Benoit Blanc unexpectedly arrives. Blanc is openly gay and happily married, and he enjoys things like listening to “Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat” and playing the game Among Us with Angela Lansbury. However, despite his memorable quirks, the first two Knives Out movies don’t reveal much about who Blanc is as a person when he’s not working.

You know, what I really love about Benoit Blanc is that the mysteries don’t change him – he’s the one who changes things, nudging characters like Marta, Helen, and now Jud towards these incredible realizations that were right in front of us the whole time. And this latest one, Wake Up Dead Man, being set in a church? It’s brilliant. Both Jud and Blanc point out that a chapel just has this emotional weight, whether you’re a believer or not. You can’t walk into a church and not feel something. It’s when Jud asks Blanc what he’s feeling that things get really interesting – because Craig Evans manages to crack his usually unflappable detective’s composure.

I have to say, the scene where Blanc really lets loose is powerful. He delivers a scathing critique of the church, calling out what he sees as its deep-seated negativity, particularly towards women and the LGBTQ+ community. It’s clearly a personal issue for him – he identifies as a ‘Proud Heretic’ and openly discusses being a gay man raised in the deeply religious South by his mother. He’s hesitant to delve into specifics, simply describing his upbringing as ‘complicated,’ but you can feel the weight of that history fueling his anger and honesty.

For LGBTQ+ viewers who grew up in religious families, this situation feels painfully familiar. It mirrors the difficult experience of reconciling a faith that emphasizes love and acceptance with the actual prejudice often encountered within it, creating a complex mix of emotions.

Okay, as a huge fan of these movies, I have to say the quick conversation between Jud and Benoit Blanc felt like we were really seeing Blanc challenged for the first time ever. It was intense! And the way those two immediately connected – being so open and vulnerable with each other – that’s really the heart of the whole story in Wake Up Dead Man. It’s what everything else builds from.

Detective Blanc has the power to legally exonerate Jud and uncover who really killed Wicks. However, the story also focuses on Blanc observing Father Jud – how he treats his community, how he responds to death, and the compassion he shows everyone he meets.

In the beginning of Wake Up Dead Man, Blanc confidently tells Jud and the police that he always identifies his killer, dramatically announcing his success with a final, decisive move. However, when the moment arrives in the film, Blanc surprisingly decides to act like Father Jud and take a different approach.

Let’s be clear: Benoit Blanc isn’t becoming religious. Jud invites him to a service at the church, now called Our Lady of Perpetual Grace, but Blanc politely declines. What really interests Blanc isn’t the religion itself, but the fact that Jud is offering friendship and a sense of belonging – a message clearly displayed on the church’s sign: “All are welcome.” He doesn’t become a Christian by the end of the movie, and he doesn’t even attend the service.

Even as he walks away, enjoying his cigar and heading toward his next mystery, it’s clear that Blanc is a different man after his time in Chimney Rock. The church offers genuine kindness and compassion, embodied by Father Jud. Watching the young priest care for his community with grace despite the hardship around him inspires Blanc to show the same compassion—even to those who have wronged him.

Rather than enjoying his successful deduction, Blanc surprisingly lets the killer deliver a final confession, giving them a chance to seek forgiveness from their priest. The killer represents pure prejudice, and seems to have reminded Blanc of his own complex relationship with his deeply religious and distant mother. Despite this, Blanc shows remarkable compassion, mirroring the kindness of Father Jud. It’s a gesture of perpetual grace.

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2025-12-23 19:04