Surprise! A bonus episode! We watched the recently released Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the third film in the Benoit Blanc detective franchise written and directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daniel Craig. We get right into themes explored throughout the movie - the juxtaposition of Blanc and Father Jud and their differing views on faith, the temptation of power and wealth and how it preys on humanity, the many ways in which we tell stories about ourselves and each other, and the inherent power of collective judgement and shame. We delve deep into the complicated relationship between the Catholic Church and how it views and treats women, make parallels between Blanc and Poirot’s view of justice and how room time as public shaming can be utilized (or not), praise the incredible lighting and cinematography multiple times, and debate whether this could have been made with a different religion at the core. We also talk about the many twists and turns the mystery takes throughout and realize the mastermind essentially accomplished their goal. Katy was influenced by The Murder of Roger Ackroyd too much, Carrie threw her notebook into the air, Maddy was thinking about Cats, and Mack pitches an academic paper. We also talk about how both Catholics and Rian Johnson love iconography and symbolism, are definitely charmed by Josh O’Connor, think the movie really balanced the buddy comedy and life philosophy aspects well, and love Bridget Everett so much. Listen to hear more about zombies, Captain Ahab, alter servers, Man v. Animal, The Dip, and Star Wars. Enjoy!
TW: Catholicism, religious trauma, homophobia, misogyny, alcoholism, cults, fascism, alt-right
NOTES:
CorvidCorgi Tumblr post about the themes of justice
Cinematicnomad Tumblr post with GIFs of the lighting in the first Blanc and Father Jud scene in the church