I watched Wake Up Dead Man two days ago and have been contemplating it ever since. It totally became my favorite movie of the trilogy, and I have to gather my thoughts on why. Spoilers Ahead.
The absolute core of this movie, of course for me, was its emphasis on the power of storytelling and the importance of point of view: what differentiates individuals from one another.
The movie starts with Blanc reading a letter (a narrative).
"Hard to know where to start."
The audience immediately makes the assumption that this is an individual in an unfortunate situation asking for the help of the world's best detective (I don't care for Batman). It takes a long time for Blanc to actually get involved, but when he does, there is only confusion since Father Jud hasn't written the letter yet, and he has no idea who Benoit Blanc is. We then learn it was Blanc who wanted him to write the letter.
"You want me to write the story?"
"I need to see his murder and the events leading up to it through your eyes."
Blanc could've just asked him various questions, had a little interrogation session. But no, he wants Father Jud to write, to tell "his version of the story."
Of course, this is his way of prying into Father Jud's mind: what are the things he chooses to mention, and how does he perceive the events in general. But the need for it to be written down, narrated on a piece of paper, puts a great emphasis on how all that is happening is, in fact, a story. Like the detective novels that are mentioned in the movie throughout, this is a story as well. And of course, it seems to suggest that there is a power in storytelling that helps convey things with or without the author's intentions.
Storytelling was mentioned before this all took place, though. When Benoit Blanc first enters the church, and he and Father Jud talk about religion, he mentions how he really feels about it, and he says,
"And it's like someone has shone a story at me that I do not believe. (…)."
Father Jud agrees with him on a certain ground,
Now this dialogue introduces the idea that religion is a story. It is a story in Blanc's eyes because it is a collage of fairy tale-like stories used to have control over society and rule in a dogmatic system, ostracizing anyone it doesn't like. It is a story in Jud's eyes because their traditions have certain drama to them, a way of romanticizing to get a stronger emotional effect. Father Jud then asks,
"I guess the question is, do these stories convince us of a lie? Or do they resonate with something deep inside us that's profoundly true? That we can't express any other way... except storytelling?"
This whole chain of moments suggests, again and again, that there is power in storytelling. Power to reach people, power to see people for who they are, power to manipulate, power to touch. But also, the story isn't one-dimensional. When Father Jud writes the letter, Blanc learns that he is guilty on one account and innocent on another, but he doesn't see the killer. Not from the letter, because it's Father Jud's story. What Father Jud says about religion and its inescapable resonance within, he is talking about himself. Blanc, as we will see at the end of the movie, even after seeing the true intentions of Father Jud, his desire to help others, will say this when Jud asks him if he wants to join his mass:
"There is nothing I would rather not do."
Because this is his version of "the religion story". His point of view.
The conflict between Father Jud and Monsieur Wicks is basically this as well. They have different versions of the same religion, their own points of view, their own stories. When Wicks is first introduced, we see his shadow on an empty wall with a mark of a crucifix. But we see Father Jud clearly. His idea of priesthood is being there for people. Different stories, different points of view. Both of these stories have immense power; one manipulates into loyalty, dependence, and the other into hope(for what the original story -religion- can be). Throughout the movie, Johnson never says religion is this or religion is that; we see religion through people. We see it as a hypocritical school of thought, a helping hand, etc. We see their stories.
Another really important example of the power of narrative is with Grace, the reason for the empty crucifix wall (I apologise if it has a proper name because I have no idea what else to call it). "The Harlot Whore" who went crazy and trashed the church. We see Grace through Martha's story, and the cinematography shifts considerably in each version. Here story/religion is used to shame a woman, other her, shun her out of society. Years later, when Jud comes to the church and learns from Martha what had happened, he doesn't really learn about Grace in particular. He hears a story of an ungodly woman who sinned and lost herself. Grace is now a story, told to keep others in check.
The movie ends with Father Jud carving a new crucifix for the church and putting "Eve's Apple" inside Jesus's rib cage, where his heart lies. The jewel that was the cause of all that happened in this "story" is in its final place, never to promote anyone. I think the cause of a series of murders being a jewel nicknamed "Eve's Apple", a symbol of knowledge and the suffering it brings along, adds another layer of emphasis on subjectivity and point of view. Everyone wants it for different reasons, and at the end of the day, it is inside a carved wood. Unattainable but not really out of reach. There isn't really an absolute truth to be attained, but there are pieces of it everywhere. We all find different versions of it because we are all different. Blanc chooses not to reveal the killer to his audience at the church. He lets Martha tell her own truth, her own story. Because only when we tell our own stories can we know who we really are. And that is the only pure truth to be found.
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