wake up dead man spoilers
one of the scenes that resonated the most with me, and most likely everyone else, was the phone call between jud and louise. beyond the fact that it’s impressive they could take a humorous scene and turn it painfully raw and gut-wrenching in less than a minute, it’s the perfect portrayal of choosing love over hate. jud and benoit are desperate to find out who ordered the equipment, so they become irritated when louise keeps talking, and talking, and talking. but the moment she asks jud, “will you pray for me?”, the entire mood changes.
the simple detail of will you pray for me instead of can you pray for me. jud is a priest—he is more than capable of saying a prayer for her mother.
it’s not about the notion of making the prayer, but the weight and power of the prayer itself; she doesn’t ask to know if god will forgive her, but if she is actually deserving of it. after seeing the corruption within wicks’ church and flock and how quick the public was to villainize jud, louise is a reminder that there is still true faith out there. her questioning of her worthiness—not of god—is rooted in the guilt that louise has for the way that she and her mother ended things. the desperation, loss, and almost fear in her voice when she asks. will you pray for me despite what i have done? am i able to be forgiven?
louise isn’t faithful because of god—the image of him, the one that’s been used and weaponized to spread ideologies, the fear of what happens if she does not meet his judgment.
she has faith because of what god represents—not as a person or figure, but as a way of discerning our own morality.
this is the religion that jud believed in from the beginning because he had the same experience. the guilt and horror of killing a man with his own hands, and the enlightenment of knowing that god does not hate him for what he did, but instead loves and forgives him. and jud realizes that, in this interaction with louise, he’s still fighting with his hands up in defense instead of opening his arms and his heart.
so, he does what he became a priest for—he says the prayer. he takes time to console her despite the urgency of the situation. he looks beyond his personal gain from the phone call and reminds her that she is not alone, extending the compassion and empathy that was given to him.
if evil and corruption is a rampant disease—if hurt people hurt people—then, surely, the cure can be spread just the same.
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