Wake Up Dead Man (2025) made me unsubscribe from Netflix
When I sit in a movie theater, my mind calms down. I may be excited or bored or any number of emotions, but something about the world feels more organized in a crowd of seats with a giant screen in front of me. The seats can be full or empty, but according to the heart monitor on my watch I'm so relaxed I might as well be asleep. Going to the movies is my favorite thing to do.
I say all that to say Netflix can go to hell. Movies of a certain caliber if not quality have always been shoved into less-desirable venues. Tiny independent theaters, drive-ins, cable networks, bargain bins, streaming channels. All of these have been and in some ways still are made to hold vast amounts of shit. Sure, there's marquee quality gold in there, but for the most part those are where the treasure hunters and the bored go to shop. Maybe I've gotten older, but it hurts a bit when a great movie gets only a few weeks in far-flung theaters. Wake Up Dead Man deserves to be big and loud and with a receptive crowd. But now it will die on Netflix.
Boo to that. Unsubscribe. Maybe I’ll find a bootleg DVD somewhere.
Basic plot: a priest is murdered in front of his congregation, and gentleman detective Benoit Blanc is called in to solve it. A cast of characters prove they all had the motive to do it, but nobody seems to have had the opportunity except the one person who probably did not want to. What follows is a funny, beautiful, and at times somber murder mystery that explores faith and justice. At one point my brain decided to catch up and the word "confession" became very important for its varied meanings.
I loved it. From Daniel Craig's continuation of the detective to the playing with light and shadow to all the murder mystery references, Wake Up Dead Man is not perfect but it's a lot of fun. See it however you can, but maybe find that friend with a little projector and have a good movie night if you can't go to the theater. Life and art are better when you can't look at your phone, people.