BY BOB FUSELIER
Los Alamos
Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? This question can stimulate a lot of discussion for us humans with our dualistic minds. Is the artwork a reflection of reality by the artist or does the artwork influence the reality of the viewer? I’ll save my answer until later. Until then, I’m going to take my shot at being a film critic.
The latest of the Knives Out Mystery series, Wake Up Dead Man, would likely fit into the category where art imitates life. I guess the life-imitates-art counterpoint is dependent upon how the audience responds. Rather than delving into the plot, characterdevelopment, and performances (all great), I’d like to focus on the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist, the hero (antihero?) and the villain.
The conflict of this movie is between two priests, who represent the two historical views of God. The older priest, a fire and brimstone preacher who seeks to unite his loyal followers by promising heavenly rewards for those who are obedient, loyal, and willing to demonize, scapegoat, and condemn those the Padre considers immoral, is played by Josh Brolin. The younger priest, played by Josh O’Conner, is a former boxer who refuses to hide either his violent path or his lack of answers and who sees his ministry as one to serve the parishioners in honest humility and compassion.
Wake Up Dead Man is, of course, a murder mystery with the non-believing Benoit Blanc, Daniel Craig’s character, called in to solve what appears to be a supernatural death with a pending resurrection twist. The overt and covert symbolism, including the names of many of the characters, points clearly to the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus in the Gospels and to the millennial-old debate of what exactly the story signifies: what does it mean to be a Christian.
What type of God we follow should be a question we as Christians constantly ask ourselves, especially now as we approach Christmas, the story of the birth of the one Christians believe to be the Son of God. Do we follow an angry god that demands sacrifice and retribution, or do we follow one that is all about infinite love and grace? If we believe in the Christmas story, the story of an unwed, pregnant, Palestinian teenager who will soon give birth to her child in a stable, a child that that’s forced to find comfort in a feeding trough and, later, in a foreign land as an exiled refugee, we should have a hint of the answer the Gospel story will eventually reveal.
As Christians, we are called to follow the way of Jesus, so well outlined in the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. Simply speaking in today’s terms, we, as Christians, cannot choose this path and choose also to fund lavish parties and reward the wealthy while we let the poor go hungry and without basic medical care. As Christians, we cannot turn our back on the exiled but hopeful refugee seeking safety and security. As Christians, we cannot neglect and mistreat those we detain and imprison. To do so is contrary to the teachings of Jesus; to do so is simply unchristian.
Wake Up Dead Man offers us that choice: Do we follow Fr. Jud or do we follow Monsignor Wicks?
At first glance, Wake Up Dead Man seems a strange movie to be released around this time of year. As I glance back, it seems perfect. But I think I’ve digressed from my original question: Does art imitate life or does life imitate art. My answer: sure.