145 min | PG-13 | November 26, 2025 | Netflix
Rian Johnson sends Benoit Blanc into a religious community to solve an impossible murder. Daniel Craig leads an ensemble that includes Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, and Josh Brolin. This is mystery filmmaking at its finest.
Whodunits are exhausted. Every twist has been done. Every structure has been explored. Rian Johnson keeps finding new ways to make them fresh. Wake Up Dead Man sends detective Benoit Blanc to investigate a murder at a religious retreat led by charismatic Monsignor Jefferson Wicks. The death defies logic. The suspects all have secrets. Blanc must navigate faith, fanaticism, and institutional power to find truth. Johnson constructs a mystery that plays fair while delivering genuine surprises.
Daniel Craig plays Blanc with the same courtly intelligence and theatrical flair. He is a detective who solves murders through observation and empathy rather than physical prowess. Craig makes Blanc feel lived-in and specific. Josh O’Connor plays young priest Jud Duplenticy with earnest faith that gets tested by proximity to corruption. Glenn Close plays Martha with secrets and steel. Josh Brolin brings menace to the Monsignor. Jeremy Renner, Mila Kunis, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny all populate the retreat with characters who feel complete even in limited screen time.
Johnson writes and directs with absolute control. Every frame is composed with intention. Every line of dialogue does work. The production design creates a religious compound that feels institutional and intimate. The cinematography by Steve Yedlin uses light and shadow to communicate character and mood. The editing maintains momentum across a complex structure that jumps between timelines and perspectives without confusion.
This is the best Knives Out film. Johnson deepens his exploration of American institutions and the rot beneath surface respectability. The mystery works. The characters breathe. The commentary on faith and power lands without being preachy. This is what happens when a filmmaker at the peak of his craft gets to work with total creative freedom.