Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery: Mini Apple Pies Recipe 🥁 🥁 🥁 1/2

Directed by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner
(PG-13, 144min.)
Genre: Mystery

“Hollywood understands film but not faith, and Christians understand faith but not film.”  ­­–Joseph Holmes

Father Brown this is not. Yes, we have a Catholic priest helping solve a crime, but this is a much darker brew.  Instead of Mrs. McCarthy’s scones and tea, we have Eve’s Apple and coffee, neither of which can wake up a dead man. 

A baffling death inside a quiet church draws Benoit Blanc into a tense investigation where faith secrets and suspicion blur as a close community turns against itself.

Just because the film is flooded with iconic religious imagery – a beautiful church that even “proud heretic” Benoit Blanc appreciates, we do not have the positive view of clerics, congregations, or even floundering angles second class as we had in Carl Malden’s inspiring priest in On the Waterfront, The Quiet Man’s  whimsical view of the church and courtship rituals, or It’s a Wonderful Life’s demonstration of the power of prayer.

Instead, the film seems to go out of its way to desecrate the church, with scenes showing a mad woman tearing down a large crucifix and knifing through the religious art in the church.  And speaking of knives, we have one killing a priest in an alcove off the altar, the instrument of death topped with a devil’s head painted blood red.

Not to mention several priests who throw around vulgarity right in the first scene, confession sessions detailing lewd acts in detail, and a Monsignor (Josh Brolin) who puts Elmer Gantry to shame as he revels in leading his parishioners astray, calling them to sin from a raised platform that looks like the mast of a marauding Viking ship.

But there more here, too, especially the “good” priest, Father Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor), who emanates goodness and light.  In fact, he even contributes to a kind of awakening in the worldly Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig growing in the part as the master detective.)  His deference to the priest might even wash away Blanc’s tirade about the church, although he admires its architecture:

Well, the architecture, that interests me. I feel the grandeur, the... the mystery, the intended emotional effect. It's... And it's like someone has shone a story at me that I do not believe. It's built upon the empty promise of a child's fairy tale filled with malevolence and misogyny and homophobia and its justified untold acts of violence and cruelty while all the while, and still, hiding its own shameful acts. So like an ornery mule kicking back, I want to pick it apart and pop its perfidious bubble of belief and get to a truth I can swallow without choking. The rafter details are very fine, though.

Eventually, however, he moderates just a bit, even throwing a road to Damascus reference with scales falling from his eyes. But that is a step too far, and he steps back. 

No, no. God is a fiction. My revelation came from... from Father Jud. His example to have grace. Grace for my enemy. Grace for the broken. Grace for those who... deserve it the least, but who need it the most. For the guilty.

The mystery itself is a variation of the locked room, and at first Blanc is sure he can solve it “kneeling at the altar of the rational.”  Without Father Jud, however, he is at a loss.

The lurid details of the death and awakening are too complex to relate.  Let’s just say they involve a remote control signal, a bulldozer, a football game on a garage TV, and at least 2 other deaths to spice things up.

What we have here is actually is a clash between mercy and justice, as demonstrated so aptly in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.

The problem is that Wake Up Dead Man never resolves this conflict. The film conveniently has the villains get justice without the heroes having to enact it. Which means they never have to … make the tough choices to choose one or the other and pay the price. That makes the film’s ending feel unearned.  ­–Joseph Holmes

Yet critics and even many Christians loved the film.  And it does offer reflection about faith and forgiveness.  The not too subtle political bias and stereotypes draw in a certain type of believer while turning off others. 

Different Drummer cannot but admire much of the dialogue and acting. Daniel Craig with his roughish look and his somewhat humbled Benoit Blanc is terrific, as is Josh O’Connor’s Father Jud.  The plot seems overdone, however, contrived, and too clever by half.

I only wish we could have the mystery toned down a bit, a more balanced discussion of faith, and forget the politics for once.

Stream it now and decide for yourself.

–Kathy Borich
🥁 🥁 🥁 1/2

Film-Loving Foodie

We’ve already mentioned the Eve’s Apple as an important but dark clue in our complex mystery.  Let’s take that literally, then, and use those tempting apples for some wonderful Mini Apple Pies.

To make Eve’s choice even more tempting, use Honeycrisp apples, a staple in Different Drummer’s kitchen.

These Mini Apple Pies are just perfect for some homemade Christmas gifts, too. Your friends will love them, but don’t expect any miracles…

 Like waking up a dead man.

Mini Apple Pies

Ingredients

All-purpose flour, for dusting

2 batches homemade pie dough or 2 store-bought crusts (preferably Pillsbury)

3 medium baking apples, such as Jonagold, Honeycrisp, or Braeburn (about 1 lb. total), peeled, cored, and finely chopped
1/4 cup (55 g.) packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 g.) granulated sugar
 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. kosher salt 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, beaten to blend
2 tsp. coarse sugar or sanding sugar
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough until 1/8" thick.
Cut 4 (7" circles) and place into 4 (4") mini pie pans. Using clean fingers, gently press dough into bottom and up sides of pans. Tuck edges under and crimp. Place pans on one prepared sheet and refrigerate.

Step 2 Cut 1/3" strips from remaining dough, rerolling scraps if needed. Arrange on second prepared sheet and refrigerate.

Step 3 Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, toss apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla; stir until well combined. Divide filling among pie shells. Brush edges with beaten egg.

Step 4 Lay 3 to 4 strips of dough vertically over filling. Lift up every other strip and place another strip across horizontally. Lay strips back down. Lift alternating strips up and place another strip across horizontally, then lay strips back down. Repeat with remaining strips until top is covered. Trim strips to be flush with edge of filling, then gently crimp. Generously brush lattice tops with beaten egg; sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Step 5 Bake mini pies until golden brown and filling is bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly. Serve with ice cream alongside

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