It’s a bit of a loose play with the facts but its anger is right “Dog Day Afternoon” Gus Van Sant has plenty of “Dead Man’s Wire,” A hostage thriller based on a true story that is deeply 1970s as well as contemporary.
In February 1977, Tony Kiritsis broke into the Meridian Mortgage Company in downtown Indianapolis and took one of its executives, Dick Hall, hostage. Kiritsis placed a sawed-off shotgun to the back of Hall’s head and wrapped a wire around his neck that was attached to the gun. If he had moved too much he would have died.
The subsequent standoff moved to Kiritsis’ apartment and ultimately ended in a live televised news conference. The entire process got some fresh attention in a 2022 podcast dramatization starring Jon Hamm.
But in “Dead Man’s Wire,” starring Bill Skarsgård as Kiritsis, these events are vividly brought to life by Van Sant. It’s been seven years since Van Sant directed after 2018’s “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot,” and one of the prevalent takeaways from his new film is that it’s too long a break for a filmmaker of Van Sant’s caliber.
Working from a script by Austin Kolodny, filmmaker of “My Own Private Idaho” and “Good Will Hunting,” turns “Dead Man’s Wire” not into a period-piece time capsule but a refreshingly relevant drama of resentment and inequality. Tony feels aggrieved by his mortgage company taking over the land deal, claiming the bank has reneged on it. We’re never given many details, but at the same time, in “Dead Man’s Wire” there’s no doubt that Tony’s cause is just. Their means may be depressing and disgusting, but the film definitely works in their favor.
The credit for this largely goes to Skarsgård, who gives one of his best and least spectacular performances. While best known for films like “It,” “The Crow” and “Nosferatu,” here Skarsgård has some green polyester and a ’70s mustache to switch up his look. The straightforward, unnerving intensity of his performance propels “Dead Man’s Wire.”
Yet Van Sant’s film aspires to be a grand ensemble drama, in which it only partially succeeds. Tony’s plight is far from alone, as multiple threads in Kolodny’s fast-paced script suggest. First and foremost is Colman Domingo as a local DJ named Fred Temple. Tony, a fan, calls Fred to explain his demands. But it’s not just a media outlet for them. Fred describes himself as “the voice of the people”.
Something similar can be said about Tony, who quickly emerges as a folk hero of sorts. As much as he tortures his hostage, he is also kind to the police officers around him. And as she and Dick spend more time together, Dick himself emerges as a victim of sorts. It is his father’s bank, and when Tony speaks to ML Hall on the phone, he seems extremely insensitive, quicker to sacrifice his son than admit any wrongdoing.
Pacino’s appearance in “Dead Man’s Wire” points toward “Dog Day Afternoon,” a movie that could be far better – but, still, that’s true of most movies – compared to Sidney Lumet’s unsurpassed 1975 classic. Still, Van Sant’s film has the same anger and disillusionment with the meat grinder of capitalism as “Dog Day.”
It has a narrative subplot about a local TV news reporter battling stereotypes, albeit not entirely successfully. Even when he gets the stuff on an unspooling news story, the way his producers say “cut it out” and put it on the air makes it clear: Whatever Tony is rebelling against, it’s him, not his plight, that will be served up on a prime-time plate.
One doesn’t need to look at similar recent cases of national fascination to see the contemporary echoes of Kiritsis’ story, such as that of Luigi Mangione, charged with the murder of a health care executive. Of course, the actual story is more complex and less metaphor-ready than the film, which detracts somewhat from the film’s gritty sense of verisimilitude. Staying closer to the truth could have produced a more moving film.
But “Dead Man’s Wire” still works. In the film, Tony demands $5 million and an apology. It’s clear that the latter means more to him than money. The tragedy in “Dead Man’s Wire” is how elusive “I’m sorry” can be.
Ro K Entertainment’s release “Dead Man’s Wire” is rated R for language throughout. Running time: 105 minutes. Three out of four stars.
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