‘Wake Up Dead Man’: Talking Faith & Murder With Rian Johnson

Filmmakers love to use Catholicism, but more often than not, it’s about vibes, not verisimilitude. Despite being a stylized murder mystery with plenty of sinister vibes, Netflix’s Wake Up Dead Man, the third in the Knives Out series, managed to capture the heart of what it means to be a priest.

Although the film is not what one would call faith-based, several Catholic reviewers and commentators have praised its depiction of a priest (one of the two in the story, that is).

What Is Wake Up Dead Man About?

The film represents a cinematic risk, in which a filmmaker that is not part of a specific subculture sets out to make a movie set in the heart of it.

In this case, it’s writer/producer/director Rian Johnson, who grew up as a self-described Protestant Evangelical.

Johnson moved away from the Christianity of his youth, but Wake Up Dead Man is set in a small Catholic parish in Upstate New York (it was actually filmed at an Anglican church in the U.K.), and focuses on two very different priests (SPOILERS AHEAD, but none that weren’t already in the teaser trailer).

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Newcomer Father Jud (Josh O’Connor) is young and on fire with his faith — but his tragic past as a boxer still haunts him. The other is Monsignor Wicks (Josh Brolin), pastor of the parish, whose overbearing, dictatorial style holds some parishioners in thrall and drives others away.

When Monsignor Wicks is murdered — in classic Agatha-Christie-type style — Father Jud falls under suspicion. In comes dapper detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), a vocal nonbeliever, to unravel the knotty dilemma.

Also starring are Glenn Close, Thomas Haden Church, Mila Kunis, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott (who himself played a priest in the series Fleabag), and Cailee Spaeny.

NOTE: The film is rated PG-13 for violent content, bloody images, strong language, some crude sexual material, and smoking. While not quite to the level of an R rating, parents are strongly cautioned. Wake Up Dead Man is NOT for the whole family.

Here’s the official teaser (mild profanity warning):

Talking to Rian Johnson

Recently, I had a chat with Johnson, telling him about two priests who praised the film in a post I did for the Family Theater Productions blog (where I am the editor) — click here for that.

Johnson was pleased to hear that. We had a wide-ranging chat about his background and current thoughts about the role of faith, why he turned to Catholic themes and its role in filmmaking, that scene with Father Jud, and even a bit about the diminishing Catholicism in TV’s Daredevil.

Here’s a sample (lightly edited for clarity). The whole interview is embedded below.

On where Wake Up Dead Man began:

For me, it started from a very personal place, which I hope in terms of some of the expressions of faith and the Christianity, is where that sincerity comes from, because I didn’t grow up Catholic. I was Protestant, Evangelical, but it wasn’t just like I was in a churchy family.

My life and my interior life was really defined by my relationship with Christ all the way up through my early twenties.

And so, I’m not a believer anymore, but as anyone will tell you, it’s a lifelong complicated road. And I feel like a lot of who I am as a person, as someone who doesn’t consider themselves a believer today, is built on this bedrock of my experience as a Christian.

And so honestly, a lot of the stuff in the movie of the us against them. and the notion of fighting versus meeting people where they’re at and embracing. also comes from my just frustration in the secular world as in the modern times and today, and knowing that I’m susceptible to that, and feeling the frustration of everyone kind of backing into their corners, me included.

And so. I think that’s the other only way that anything sincere actually happens, is it comes from even the stuff you’re indicting, it has to come from some element of self-indictment to really know where it’s coming from.

On why Catholicism for Wake Up Dead Man:

But then the other element of it is because I didn’t grow up Catholic, because I was Protestant, honestly, there was always something growing up that felt slightly exotic to me about Catholicism.

And because we were outside of it, there was something as a kid, especially that the visual elements of it were so powerful, it almost felt a little scary.

And so another element of it was wanting to, having been a Christian, but not really, never having been a Catholic, just the, I say, research project, but that makes it sound very intellectual. It was more than that. …

On his personal connection to the Church:

… There was my aunt and uncle, who I’m very close to live in Denver, are very devout Catholics, and they connected me with their priest, Father Scott [Bailey).

(Note: Father Bailey was a consultant on the film. Read more about him in the National Catholic Register.)

And besides many conversations with him also, I flew out to Denver, and had a dinner at their house. And Father Scott invited five of his friends who were priests and a couple of deacons from the Denver area.

And we had just an evening where we had a great meal together and just talked, not really about theology, but about their lives as priests. And I am so grateful to them to opening up to me to the extent they did.

And also they talked about what they feel films get right and what they get wrong about what it’s like to be a priest. And one of their big pet peeves was just when it feels like kind of a cardboard cutout representation in one side, whether it’s good or bad, as opposed to a whole flawed human being.

So anyway, and I’m sure, I’m sure I didn’t get it completely, I don’t want to imply they’re a complete endorsement or something, but the fact that it started with those conversations, I think that probably helped.

So, did he ask them about … celibacy?

Watch the video and find out …