Director Rian Johnson's work has spanned a number of genres, including his subversive Star Wars movie The Last Jedi and TV procedural Poker Face (which is streaming with a Peacock subscription). But in recent years he's perhaps most synonymous with the Knives Out franchise. His third installment Wake Up Dead Man recently arrived on streaming for those with a Netflix subscription, and has a distinct tone and visual language from its predecessors. And cinematographer Steve Yedlin spoke to CinemaBlend about how he accomplished those recurring church door shots throughout the movie.
Yedlin has worked with Rian Johnson for years, going back to their high school days. He's usually the cinematographer for Johnson's films, including all three of the Knives Out movies. I had the privilege of speaking with him ahead of Wake Up Dead Man's release, where I asked about a shot thats repeated throughout its runtime. Namely the Church's lack of a crucifix, followed by opening doors and the silhouette of various characters. He cued me into the creative process, saying:
You're right. It is, it's at least two, if not three or four. But yeah, we didn't do them the exact same way because they each sort of had different. There were some, just some different aspects to them, but it was incredibly low tech. Obviously that's a theatrical thing. There's no way you would really have that shadow at that position, because if this, you know, firstly, it's not a time of day when the sun's that low, but even if it, even if it was, there's trees back there. So it's an impressionistic theatrical thing. So we wanted to make, just make it feel really big rather than exactly realistic.
This shot was clearly important for Knives Out 3, given how many times we return to it throughout the film's 144-minute runtime. It's visually striking, especially with the shadows around where a crucifix should be hanging in Jefferson Wicks' church. And the fact that Josh Brolin's shadow is looming really hints at what's happening with this church and its loyal congregants.
CinemaBlend's Wake Up Dead Man review praised it as the best Knives Out movie so far, and a big reason why it's so successful is thanks to its unique tone and gothic imagery. The shot of the church doors and the crucifix shadow debuts early in its runtime, and is used time and time again to great success. Later in our same interview, Steve Yedlin went on to speak about the variations of that powerful image, telling me:
Because also because also they take place at different times. You know, the one at the end when, when Jud comes in before the Denu ma, the sun has just come up. We've just gone from dawn to the first ray of sunlight. So that one has like a much bigger color contrast where the sun is a lot warmer and the sky is a lot cooler, where some of the other ones, that color contrast is very subtle because it's more in the middle of the day.
The Church itself is basically a character in Wake Up Dead Man, and it's fascinating to see the way light is used throughout the film. Throughout scenes in that location light comes in and out with the weathers, and often highlights what's happening narratively. That's also the case with the recurring shot of the door opening, and a shadow being cast over the wall where a crucifix should be.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is streaming now on Netflix as part of the 2025 movie release list. We'll have to wait and see how long it takes for the filmmaker to produce fourth installment; Rian Johnson doesn't write these movies in advance.
