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| Josh O'Connor as FATHER JUD, Glenn Close as MARTHA |
I run a film discussion at my church that we call a "film collective." Attending a Presbyterian church is a new experience for me. There are many committees, and they all have very fancy names. I didn't think "film discussion group" would cut it, so we came up with film collective. This recognizes that we are watching these films as community. This is different than watching as just my self. We create meaning together as a body.
The discussion are much richer because they are created by us as a collective. Our group has been in existence for two years now. I have been meaning to post our discussion questions in case others want to do the same and see a template.
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| Daniel Craig as BENOIT BLANC |
About Rian Johnson: Rian Johnson got his start directing the neo noir BRICK in 2005. Emulating the style of films like MALTESE FALCON or CHINATOWN but setting it in a modern high school, Johnson showed a knowledge of film history and his intention to interrupt that history in his own way from the beginning. It's a film I consider perfect and can be found in my small but excellent physical media collection. It's the story of Brendan, a loner who receives a note from his ex-girlfriend in his locker and sets out to try and help her.
He next directed LOOPER, a science fiction action thriller that messes with time travel tropes. He then famously got involved with the Star Wars universe and directed perhaps the most divisive of those films of all time, THE FORCE AWAKENS. Still to this day, the hate watching on this film is intense.
And then the KNIVES OUT FRANCHISE started, where Johnson uses a classic locked room mystery setup as a way to examine dynamics of power, hierarchies, and systemic abuse. The first Knives Out was set in a wealthy family. The second, GLASS ONION dealt with big tech and influencer culture. Which brings us to WAKE UP DEAD MAN, which turns a gaze up on religious abuse and shame culture. Johnson has revealed that he grew up in the church and wanted to revisit that world. If you feel the world seems authentic, that's why!
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| Josh O'Connor as FATHER JUD, Daniel Craig as BENOIT BLANC |
About Wake Up Dead Man: a Knives Out Mystery: Detective Benoit Blanc teams up with an earnest young priest to investigate a perfectly impossible crime at a small-town church with a dark history. Film can be found on Netflix.
Discussion Questions:
1. Father Jud agrees with Blanc that the church is full of storytellers and storytelling. But he says what really matters is if these stories resonate with something deep inside of us that’s profoundly true or profoundly a lie. What do you think about that statement?
2. What did you think about the characters that make up Monsignor Wicks’ flock? Did any of them seem familiar, as in you relate to them or have met people like them?
3. What stories are these characters telling themselves?
4. What clues, if any, did you pick up after the fact as to who the real guilty party was?
5. Was there only one guilty party? What was each person guilty of?
6. Martha says she was “the good one." How did this become her identity?
5. Was there only one guilty party? What was each person guilty of?
6. Martha says she was “the good one." How did this become her identity?
When thinking about our place in a group, we often creates similar appeals: the smart one, the talented one, the good looking one. What is appealing about this? What is damaging about this?
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| [L-R] Daryl McCormack as CY, Glenn Close as MARTHA, Cailee Spaeny as SIMONE, Josh Brolin as JEFFERSON WICKS, Kerry Washington as VERA, Andrew Scott as LEE, Jeremy Renner as Nat |
7. We see the scene in the church several times where Grace Wicks comes in to ransack the church. We see the exact same scene multiple times but the story is narrated by a different storyteller. We are given different information each time. How did your perceptions of her actions change based on the information you were given and the storyteller?
8. Father Jud and Benoit Blanc each have a Road to Damascus moment, where the scales fell from their eyes. What do they each realize? What does it change in them? Who were they before and after that moment took place?
Can you think of a moment like that in your life?
9. Father Jud is a fighter. That’s a gift he uses for good or evil. He feels anger, usually when he sees people under his care being harmed. That’s a good thing, but it’s bad if the anger controls you. Do you have a gift that works that way for you? Some people call it a shadow. Who you are at your best and your worst?
10. Monsignor Wicks is a troubling character, but he keeps a steadfast flock. This is broken down somewhat in the script and some left to deduction. What do people find appealing about a leader like Monsignor Wicks?
11. Father Jud says that Samson is the only one pure of heart at the Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. What does he mean by this?
12. What was your experience of watching the phone call with Louise?
An interesting analysis from a fellow critic.
©2026 Lindsey Dunn @1ofmystories. All Rights Reserved.
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