(3 stars)
Gus Van Sant’s new crime thriller, “Dead Man’s Wire,” has already elicited comparisons to the tale of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive just over a year ago. The film explores the failures of capitalism by dramatizing a three-day period in February 1977, during which Indianapolis resident Tony Kiritsis, who was denied an extension on mortgage payments, held his broker hostage at gunpoint.
Similar to Mangione, the on-screen version of Tony (portrayed by Bill Skarsgard) attracts a following as the crisis unfolds on the news. He calls into a local radio station to explain his financial woes to disc jockey Fred Temple (Colman Domingo), whom he considers a voice of reason, and resonates with listeners disillusioned by the systems intended to serve them.
Only, Tony doesn’t completely disavow those systems. He blames the players rather than the game, finding the most fault with broker Richard “Dick” Hall (Dacre Montgomery) and his company-executive father, M.L. Hall (Al Pacino). Riveting and darkly comedic, the film nimbly conveys the tragedies of buying into the American Dream.
“Dead Man’s Wire,” named for the wire tying a shotgun trigger to a loop around Dick’s neck as he remains bound to a chair in Tony’s apartment, is Van Sant’s first feature-length project since 2018’s “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot.” Its handheld camerawork recalls the lively energy of his gritty 1989 breakout “Drugstore Cowboy,” while the central narrative resembles other Van Sant dramas such as “My Own Private Idaho” (1991) and “Good Will Hunting” (1997) in showcasing an outsider’s struggles. The director worked off a script by first-time feature writer Austin Kolodney, who learned about Kiritsis’s story from a podcast.
Tony isn’t painted as a hero, but as an understandable antagonist. Skarsgard, whose father Stellan appeared in “Good Will Hunting,” carved out a niche in the horror genre by starring in films such as “It,” “Barbarian” and “Nosferatu” but proves his versatility by injecting pathos into the role of a man acting out of sheer desperation. His laughter, menacing in other projects, here underscores the incredulity of someone feeling heard for the first time. His distinctive eyes, utilized to maximum creepiness when he played Pennywise in “It,” project anguish as Tony continually insists, “My businesses are my children.” By refusing to grant him extra time to pay off his mortgage, the father-son brokers threaten Tony’s sense of purpose.
The aspiring entrepreneur stammers as he informs law enforcement, including Detective Michael Grable (Cary Elwes), of his demands: He wants his debt forgiven, plus $5 million to make up for the money he believes Dick cheated him out of. He wants legal impunity. And most of all, he says, he wants an apology.
Montgomery makes the most of a supporting role, convincingly bouncing back and forth between palpable fear and light mockery. When Dick asks whether there is a woman in Tony’s life to help him out of his despair, knowing full well there isn’t, it’s not hard to picture the broker as a manifestation of corporate greed and evil. But then he softens, most visibly when his father — a hilariously cruel Pacino — refuses to meet Tony’s conditions. Audiences realize Dick, too, is trapped in an unfortunate dynamic.
“Dead Man’s Wire” adopts a swift pace, never lingering too long in a single setting. That works against the film on a few occasions, such as when it rushes through how media coverage affected the crisis. Though several scenes focus on a young broadcast journalist named Linda Page (Myha’la), who tries to prove herself by spending hours outside Tony’s building, the storyline never feels relevant to the main critique.
The film’s strongest sequences resemble 1970s thrillers such as Sidney Lumet’s “Dog Day Afternoon,” in which Pacino — his casting can’t have been a coincidence — plays a similarly tormented antihero. Lumet’s moving crime drama is based on a robbery that took place in 1972. Kiritsis held Hall hostage just five years later. And yet both stories still resonate after roughly 50 years, a credit to the artists who adapted them.
While trying to convince Tony to free his hostage, the local DJ Fred shares the Buddhist saying, “Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” Tony marvels at this wisdom but chooses to ignore it. He knows his indignation is common enough to serve a purpose — and, through “Dead Man’s Wire,” it does.
R. At AMC Georgetown 14. Contains mature language. 105 minutes.
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