The famous detective Benoit Blanc is known for solving impossible mysteries. When he is called to upstate New York to investigate the murder of Msgr. Jefferson Wicks in Wake Up Dead Man, the third installment in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out franchise, Blanc has every confidence that the case is solvable, and he relishes the moment that will come at the end of the story when, in his words, “I take the stage and unravel my opponent’s web. Oh, you’ll see. It’s fun!”
But when the moment finally comes for Blanc to lay bare the wickedness and shame of the guilty, he chooses silence, inspired by the example of the parish priest, Fr. Jud Duplenticy. Blanc decides not to expose the murderer. He gives the murderer the chance to make a free-will confession, and this allows the priest to exercise his sacramental ministry.
Nearly two years before the release of Wake Up Dead Man, Johnson invited me to read a draft of the script and provide feedback from the perspective of a Catholic priest. Shortly thereafter, I became the film’s Catholic Technical Consultant. I was a resource for the production team. I answered questions related to costumes, set decoration, and props. I even had some “coaching” conversations with Josh O’Connor, the actor who plays Fr. Jud.
From my first read of the script, I was struck by the poignant portrayal of the priesthood through Fr. Jud. He seemed to be one of the best priests I had come across in film in recent years. But would other priests agree with me? Was I biased because of my association with the movie’s production?
With the film’s recent release on Netflix, I have now been able to discuss this character with many priests. We are largely in agreement: Wake Up Dead Man respects the priesthood and shows us the heart of a good priest through Fr. Jud. As one priest wrote to me, this movie made him feel “very seen.”
While the film contains plenty of objectionable and inaccurate things, the character of Fr. Jud is a compelling portrayal of the priesthood. Wake Up Dead Man gets four things right about Catholic priests.
The early experience of being a priest. When we are introduced to Fr. Jud at the start of the film, he tells us that he was “young, dumb, and full of Christ!” He jumps into parish ministry with genuine zeal and a passion for talking about the transformative power of Jesus. He tries to be friendly with his parishioners, but many treat him as naive and useless. Fr. Jud means well but he oversteps his bounds sometimes, like when he tries to have a prayer meeting without telling the pastor. These are likely familiar experiences for any man in the first years of priestly ministry.
Accompaniment of people one-on-one. In the early part of the movie, Fr. Jud does a stellar job of trying to meet each parishioner in the concrete circumstances of their lives. He listens to their stories. He asks questions. He offers insight when there is an opportunity. This is a daily task for parish priests. When we preach one message for an entire congregation of people who are in different places in their relationship with God, our homilies likely land differently for each person. Preaching that is coupled with the one-on-one work of accompaniment often has great impact. Unlike Msgr. Wicks, Fr. Jud does not raise up “culture warriors” who are more concerned with the evils of the world than the goodness of God. His model of ministry is taught by Jesus himself: It is personal, Christ-centered, and an invitation to walk a converted life. Fr. Jud is a great model of the patient father figure who is willing to walk alongside the people.
“Louise moments.” There is a scene in which Fr. Jud is completely caught up in trying to discover clues with Blanc. He finds himself on a phone call with a chatty woman named Louise, as he needs some information from her. When Fr. Jud impatiently tries to get her off the phone so that he can get back to solving the mystery, she suddenly asks him: “Father, can you pray for me?” Fr. Jud’s demeanor changes. He steadies his breathing and makes himself completely present to Louise. He listens. He prays with her for her sick mother. The mystery takes a backseat.
Every priest knows this experience. We may be in a rush or in the midst of something “important” when suddenly we are interrupted by someone in need. At first there is the tug of annoyance or frustration, which is a natural response. But if the priest is attentive to the Spirit and allows the Lord to lead, that moment becomes a powerful experience of God’s grace. This can be a vocation-affirming gift from the Lord in the midst of the more unexciting duties of priesthood, such as dealing with complaints and worrying about parish finances. Through these moments, the Lord invites the priest to step out of the chaos and into God’s presence, allowing him to feel—in the words of Fr. Jud—“like a priest again.” I have started to refer to these experiences in my own ministry as “Louise moments.”
The persistent invitation. Every priest can think of people who seem particularly resistant to conversion. Not everyone in the pews is deeply in love with the Lord yet! We encounter people who are hostile, apathetic, or inconsistent in their relationship with the Lord. We must persevere in proclaiming Christ and offering the invitation over and over again, “in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). Fr. Jud’s persistent invitation pierces the final scenes of the movie. As the murderer is dying in his arms, he helps her to make an integral confession, urging her to confess a sin she is still clutching.
Later, as the story closes, we see Fr. Jud’s persistence again when he invites Blanc to attend his first Mass in the reopened church. Fr. Jud probably knew that Blanc would say “no,” but his invitation is the planting of a seed: a reminder to the detective that the Lord is always ready to welcome him back. Priests must be persistent in making the invitation to Christ, reminding even the most hard-hearted that the Lord has not abandoned us and is waiting for us to turn to him.
Wake Up Dead Man is by no means a perfect movie, nor does it get all the Catholic stuff right. In the real world, faithful priests do not use the Lord’s name in vain, go to confession to their parochial vicars, make fake confessions (a sacrilege), try to create division in their communities, or let others listen in on confessions (even if the person is a dying murder suspect). Those instances aside, I think that many priests will be adding this film to their list of movies that capture the beauty of priestly ministry.
