As the audience gets seated comfortably in their seats, they’re greeted by a fireplace being gently nursed as the camera cues to detective Benoit Blanc settling into a cozy sofa with the eyewitness account of Father Jud Duplenticy, a young and outspoken priest who had just arrived at the town of Chimney Rock. Small and unassuming, the two of them work together to uncover the truth about the Good Friday murder. The death of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, initially thought of as a locked-room mystery by both Blanc and the town’s police chief, Geraldine Scott, turns out to be a well-planned murder intended to hide the shameful secret of Wicks’ family and their church, Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. While this horrific murder is under investigation, Father Jud gets accused of being the culprit as a video taken out of context shows him being hostile towards Monsignor Wicks in a heated argument, causing him much distress.
By now, you might think of this movie as another cliché detective movie, with Daniel Craig, who once played the ever-iconic role of James Bond between 2006 and 2021, being the main character in a seemingly unsolvable case that will always end with the culprit being ousted, either dead or alive. Though this might be true, unlike the other 2 movies in the Knives Out franchise, this movie contains an important element that connects to writer-director Rian Johnson on a personal level — faith. Faith itself is commonly associated with hope, but faith in this context would be more accurate by defining it as belief and trust in and loyalty to God, as per the Merriam-Webster dictionary.[1] By extension, the parishioners not only have faith in God, but also in Monsignor Wicks, the priest for the church that was of his grandfather, Prentice Wicks. The movie introduces two very distinct methods in which Monsignor Wicks and Father Jud have different approaches to faith, either to lead astray or towards the right path.
The Two Priests Meet
In order to understand how these two priests are different, we first have to know more about the characters. In this movie, the very first shot where Father Jud (Josh O’Connor) was shown on screen had him punching a rude deacon, intended to guide viewers into thinking that he’s a violent individual, a bad first impression that strays away from the mental image of conventional priests — soft spoken, patient, caring, and obviously, non-violent. He is then presented in front of a panel to explain his misdemeanor, confessing that he once led a life on the streets, making a mistake of inflicting physical violence on other individuals as a boxer to make ends meet.
Even so, ever since he felt the loving hands of God, he vowed never commit such an act again, reaffirming his stance to focus on being a priest that would “show broken people like me the forgiveness and love of Christ”. Jud represents the possibility of turning over a new leaf, to pick up the shards from a past life and to live with the pain of it, whilst devoting his newfound life to sharing his faith in God with people who might have lost sight of the right path, as he was while fighting in the ring.
Jud explains himself before the panel of priests.
After the incident, Jud is then sent to serve at Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, a small, humble church that is tucked in Chimney Rock, New York, led by Monsignor Jefferson Wicks and assisted by Martha Delacroix, the church custodian. The church was originally founded by Wicks’ grandfather, Prentice, who was well respected within the community before his passing, leaving his legacy to be inherited by Monsignor Wicks. Wicks had a loyal group of parishioners who attended Sunday Mass, all giving him high praise for his knowledge, though the local townsfolk might think otherwise. The priest was extreme and relentless with his words as he directed his speech at newcomers, targeting the vulnerability of their souls that came to seek solace by confronting them with their sins in front of an audience, pushing them to leave with nothing but anger and shame.
After 9 months of serving the church, Jud confesses that he disagrees with Wicks’ method of ‘caring’ for his core group of parishioners by allowing, or even encouraging them to cope with their struggles negatively, ultimately leading them to live on with hate or false hope. In response, Wicks retaliates by punching Jud in the stomach. His violent reaction was not just him lashing out in anger, but to remind Jud that he still is the one with authority and respect. No one will condemn Wicks for his actions, as he is still respected as the long-standing priest in the town, but Jud could easily be in the spotlight if he tried to fight back with his tainted past, making it easy to direct the narrative in Wicks’ favour.
Jud defends himself against Wicks after receiving a blow to his stomach.
As Jud raises his fists instinctively to protect himself, Wicks tells Jud that he should be angry, that anger would be the ignition that they needed to fight back against the world, to “take back the ground we’ve lost”. He wants people to harbor hate and anger in their hearts, to remember what the world has taken away from them.
“Wicks is at a place where he is looking for everybody’s weakest spot and exploiting it,” says Josh Brolin, who plays the charismatic monsignor. “His philosophy is if you can get to your worst, most feral place, then you can climb toward the light from there.” [2]Since the beginning, Wicks did not care for his flock nor the struggles they confessed to him; instead, he exploited them with his religious authority to financially support the church and boost his presence beyond the church walls. Wicks’ actions are anything but what a priest should be doing for his local community.
In another scene, Wicks was willing to defame the group of parishioners once he had his hands on the wealth and power he had always dreamt of, showing his blatant disregard for his expected piety. He once confessed to Jud that he envied his grandfather’s power as a priest, knowing that he would never attain the same amount of respect from people if he continued to stay in Chimney Rock. Once he got news of his grandfather’s wealth from Martha, he decided to reunite with Cy Draven, his biological son, who was left to be raised by Vera, a member of his loyal parishioners, as he had the resources online to spread his influence beyond the limitations of this small town. He chose to abandon his parishioners, closing the doors of the church that proved to be a safe space for these lost souls, going as far as being willing to expose their sins, such as Dr. Nat’s drinking issue, to destroy their reputation and Wicks himself leaving unscathed. Even as a priest, Wicks never had the intention of treating the townsfolk kindly with his religious teachings, but to use this authority for his own personal needs. He knew that they needed help and guidance, but instead he used their vulnerabilities as a weapon to hurt them when the time arose.
How Jud is Different from Wicks
In retrospect, Jud was able to care for the parishioners within the short amount of time he’s spent at Chimney Rock. Samson Holt was the groundskeeper of the church and rectory, battling his dependency on alcohol, until Wicks managed to dissuade him by demonstrating how he could stay sober himself despite being a former drinker. Samson looked up to Wicks, so he naturally believed him and found the strength to overcome his desire to drink every day. Despite Jud’s dissatisfaction with Wicks’ method of leading his flock, he still wanted to maintain that faith that the parishioners had towards Wicks.
After Wicks’ death, Jud had kept the truth about Wicks’ habit of drinking after every Mass, and in doing so, concealed a piece of important evidence vital to solving the case, as the flask Wicks drank from was spiked with a tranquillizer, causing him to pass out immediately after consuming the alcohol. Before this discovery, it was assumed that Wicks was dead before he was found lying face down in the closet; instead, the fatal blow was delivered after the discovery, while he was actually unconscious.
“I didn’t do it to protect Wicks. I did it to save the people who believe in him just a little disillusionment. […] A little storytelling to protect my flock.”
Samson was able to stay sober because Wicks proved to be a role model for him. Jud believed that if the police and media reported about the flask, Sam would revert to drinking again, no longer having faith towards a possible recovery from alcoholism. If Wicks himself, a priest who was supposed to lead a holy and righteous life, lies about his sobriety, then barely anything else can motivate a person to continue on this difficult path of recovery.
Later in the day, as Jud calls impatiently, trying to figure out the details of a crypt opening order crucial to identifying the culprit, the construction company employee Louise quietly asks him to pray for her mother, who has a brain tumour. She was afraid that a heated argument might end up being their last conversation. Jud immediately stops everything he was working on and focuses on praying for Louise, the gentleness in his voice was evidence of his dedication and affection for the people that need him most as a priest, much different from Wicks’ barbaric sermons.
Jud prays for Louise through the phone.
“Okay, Louise. You have my number. Any time, day or night, I’m here for you. This church is here for you.”
Jud is willing to be present no matter what time of day, as demonstrated when Louise calls at an inconvenient time. In this instant, Jud was running away from a silhouette that resembled the dead priest late at night, still choosing to pick up the call for her while deeply in fear for his own life.
Apart from serving the followers of Christ, Jud would still talk to Blanc earnestly about his views regarding the religion, despite Blanc being a non-believer. Jud did not dismiss Blanc’s opinion on how religion is very much like a child’s fairy tale meant to hide the unpleasant acts, like sweeping all the rubbish under a fancy rug. Instead, he offers a counterpoint:
“Or do they (stories) resonate with something deep inside us that’s profoundly true? That we can’t express any other way.”
Jud doesn’t brand Blanc as a heretic, or demonise his beliefs about the church; Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, though small, is not immune to internalized misogyny and the mistreatment of women. As a priest, Wicks is meant to portray devotion to God and His love. However, he continues in the footsteps of his grandfather, Prentice, in branding his own mother, Grace, the “harlot whore”, a name which in itself reeks of misogyny. Wicks is also complicit in using Vera, inadvertently forcing her to raise Cy, which results in a confrontation where she says, “Once again, the boy’s club closed rank. And there I was, the loyal little idiot, trapped”. Consider Simone, who was financially and emotionally exploited by Wicks. All she wanted was divine healing, and that Wicks sank his teeth into that hope to get the money he wanted. Even Martha, the most loyal and devoted of all the parishioners, was subject to years of thankless work where she served the church every single day without recognition or gratitude.
Despite all this, Jud continues to demonstrate the best of religion, showing how it serves as a source of comfort and strength to believers, while providing the moral framework and guidance needed to work towards a better life. When Dr. Nat turns into a bitter alcoholic after his divorce, Jud recognises that he should be guided into forgiveness and letting it go instead of continuing to harbour hate in his heart. Jud also doesn’t turn against Cy, who comes back to the church demanding his inheritance, the jewel that Prentice hid all those years ago. Instead, he welcomes Cy to come back to the church anytime, stating that “his true inheritance is in Christ”.
This exemplifies Jud’s beliefs, which is “not to fight the wicked and bring them to justice, but to serve them and bring them to Christ”. An earnest faith, living for a purpose larger than himself in ways that set him apart from Wicks in every single way.
Jud speaks to Blanc about his real purpose in life.
Jud’s Forgiveness that Transcends Kindness
At the final moments of the movie, Jud absolves Martha of her sins and is willing to take her confession, even though he had every right to refuse. Jud had been wrongfully accused by the whole of Chimney Rock, being regarded as a ‘killer priest’ due to his conflicting belief of a priest’s duties with Wicks that was shared with the public out of context, cementing the public’s belief that Jud had a motive — to take over the church for himself. Martha’s efforts in demonizing Jud to misguide the investigation had left him in much despair; even so, he chose to take her confession as the priest, which Martha needed the most in her last moments.
Beautifully, Jud also gets Martha to ask forgiveness from Grace, a full circle moment which also closes the loop of anger and disdain that Martha held for Grace all these years. As a child, Martha was taught to revile Grace, Wicks’ mother, who got pregnant out of wedlock, calling her the “harlot whore”. This belief was further solidified when Martha witnessed Grace trashing the church after Prentice’s funeral in an effort to find the hidden jewel. Grace even beat Martha physically after Martha provoked her.
However, in Martha’s final moments, she sees Grace for what she was: a girl, abandoned by her family within her own home. Shamed, ostracized, desperately searching for a way out. Martha asks for Grace’s forgiveness in her confession, saying, “I see it now. That poor girl.”
Martha takes her final breath after her confession while in Jud’s embrace.
“God didn’t hide me or fix me. He loves me when I’m guilty. That’s what I should be doing for these people.”
Jud believes in a loving God, a God who sees your faults and chooses to love you. He believes wholeheartedly that once he took Martha’s confession, not only could Jud and Blanc have their doubts surrounding the mystery cleared, but also have her forgive herself for her actions. She acted in good faith – to protect Prentice’s fortune from those who wanted their hands on it, but led the wrong path in her efforts to rectify the mistake she had made the moment she confessed the whereabouts of Prentice’s jewel to Wicks.
He understands the pain that comes along with the death of a man by your own hands. He pushed his boxing opponent until he broke, and then killed him. He knew that he harbored hate in his heart, and nothing could fix that violent part of him. Yet he felt God’s love even when he was drowning in guilt. This love led him towards a priest’s collar so that he could share compassion with other people who needed it. In so many instances, he could’ve resorted to violence to protect himself, which was his second nature, but instead, he chose to move forward with the gentleness that he had promised to lead others with, moving them towards a better path.
The clear distinction between Jud and Wicks’ efforts to preach their own understanding of faith to the people who confided in them displays exactly how there are people who would still hold onto doing what’s right even if they have no support. While Wicks constantly breaks people down to keep them angry and afraid, Jud still tries to hold prayer meetings aside from regular services for the parishioners in secret. Not meant to anger or defy Wicks intentionally, instead to provide a safe space for the parishioners to truly embrace and voice out their prayers without the overwhelming presence of Wicks.
Beauty of Faith and Embracing Our Flaws
Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man is more than a conventional detective movie; it’s an intricately written movie about faith, a faith so strong that one is willing to put everything on the line. Jud outright says that he’s “tired of the whodunnit game”, which separates him from his true purpose as a priest. Instead, he chooses to spread faith in an impactful and beautiful way – for the parishioners to have faith in themselves, that the future will lead to a better path, that the church will become a true place of spiritual refuge. Most importantly, Jud acts upon faith to fulfil his duty to guide lost souls to Christ.
To quote Richard Katrovas from “The Boxers Embrace”:
“Such is the truth of all destructive action,
transcending histories of consequence
and serving therefore as a mottled lens
unto the bifurcated human heart
whose one true nature is to break apart
revealing beast and angel wrapping arms
beyond all consequence of temporal harms.”
Perhaps the gentleness and warmth that Jud leads with are only possible after one has endured the worst of what life has to offer, being able to absolve sins during confession with compassion and without any prejudice. He treats the parishioners with kindness still, even after witnessing their unwavering devotion to Wicks by walking out of his own prayer meetings. Rian Johnson’s writing makes Jud seem ever more forgiving and understanding, qualities we wish to find amidst the bleak social climate that we currently experience, one that specifically weaponises faith to mistreat others.
Religious faith might not be for everyone, though faith itself in fellow humans is essential to keep moving forward in life. To rely on each other in a community, no matter how small, is the essence of being human. We all possess flaws that we might be too embarrassed to admit, but these vulnerabilities that we are willing to share can be the first stepping stone to leading a better life by being more forgiving towards ourselves. After all, nothing is simpler than despair, but it is the conscious choice that we make to look past the suffering which can only lead us forward.
Written by: Jia Yu & Sarah
Edited by: Sherman
