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Oscar Snub

 One of my favorite movies this year was "Wake Up Dead Man"; it's exuberant and inventive. It borrows from P.D. James--with the writer having recognized that a "faith community" is an ideal setting for a murder story. It reimagines Donald Trump as a hate-filled minister; Steve Bannon becomes a young man (Cy) with an interest in TikTok and a lust for power. "Dead Man" also allows Glenn Close to have fun. She throws tantrums. She has long passages of breathy voice-over narration. She is even a part of a "dick joke."


The reason I *really* love Rian Johnson is that I share his interest in subtext. Again and again, he is focused on all that goes unsaid. In a brilliant early scene, the Trumpian priest, Monsignor Wicks, asks to have his confession heard. But--really--he wants to intimidate the young man who is under his thumb. "I masturbated four times this week....once, in the shower, standing up....Once, I was unprepared, so I had to finish on the pages of an old issue of Catholic Digest...." Wicks finishes with a hearty handshake. If you were interested merely in the letter of the law, you could not accuse Wicks of any wrongdoing. But--clearly--he has a desire to humiliate others. (The coda of this story: Wicks is actually unable to get an erection.)

The "twin" for this scene involves the young hero, Jud Duplenticy. Jud is aggravated by Benoit Blanc, who seems solely interested in adding to his resume of solved cases. In Jud's view, Benoit lacks heart. Jud's anger simmers until--in a particularly tense moment--he finds a way to retaliate. A woman with crucial evidence wants to hit "pause" to talk about her mother. "She has a tumor, and it made her say hateful things--and I said even worse things--and now she won't see me. And I worry she'll die before we mend fences...." (Bridget Everett is incredible in this scene.) Jud listens because he wants to listen. But--also--his way of listening, without stopping to apologize to Benoit, without noticing that the afternoon hours have given way to nighttime, is something like a power trip. Delightful.

A third use of subtext involves Martha, the resident secretary/organist/historian. Like Mrs. Danvers in "Rebecca," Martha is always emerging--abruptly--from the shadows, in a way that is clearly aggressive. But you couldn't "call" her on this--she would just pretend not to understand you. When a teen defaces a local tomb with images of a penis, Martha shudders and complains that "kids are ruining our artifacts with paintings of rocket ships!" It's evident that Martha *knows* the painting does not depict a rocket ship. But she has rewritten history in a way that feels comfortable. And, in her silence, she *dares* you to challenge her authority.

I think Rian Johnson is really smart and creative. It's the screenplay that makes "Wake Up" a gem. And yet the film was overlooked by the Academy--this seems like an error.
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