Talk about timely.
Gus Van Sant returns to the Venice Film Festival for the first time in more than 30 years with an out of competition entry Dead Man’s Wire, which literally looks ripped from the headlines. That is especially true now where the “little guy” feels increasingly cheated by corporate America as witnessed in the recent case of the cold-blooded murder on the streets of NYC of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, gunned down by Luigi Mangione in broad daylight. Since then, Mangione has become a bit of a folk hero for many as he awaits trial.
Van Sant’s movie was in the works and started shooting before that happened but feels like art imitating life both past and present, as this story was actually set in 1977 and based on a true incident that became quite infamous at the time. On February 8 that year, Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård) walked calmly into the Meridian Mortgage Company in downtown Indianapolis and asked to see Richard Hall (Dacre Montgomery), who ran the business and was well known to him. Soon after entering the office he pulled out a 12-gauge shotgun connected to a wire he placed on Hall’s neck, and started repeating his demands. He wanted $5 million, a guarantee of no prosecution or jail time, and an apology from M.L. Hall (Al Pacino), the owner of Meridian — and Richard’s father — for cheating him out of what he was “owed.”
Hall of course was sweating over this because any sudden movement and his head would be blown off. This began a very public incident as Kiritsis proceeded to march Hall through the offices and out onto the street with no fear of being stopped. Slowly the cops start to show up, including a local whom Tony knows well and trusts, followed by more and a curious public as Tony intends to take his hostage back to his apartment. The media is also there, although at first it is only a lone light feature reporter from a local TV station who happened to be in the right place at the right time, her big chance to break a big story. She is Linda Page (Myha’La), and when she calls in the breaking events her boss tells her she can go home as they will send in the A-team. Craftily knowing she is being sidelined, she sets out to prove she’s got the stuff.
RELATED: Gus Van Sant & ‘Dead Man’s Wire’ Cast On The Film’s Misguided Heroism, Dark Comedy & Luigi Mangione Vibes – Venice Film Festival
Also dragged into this hostage crisis is local jazz radio DJ Fred Temple, who it turns out has a fan in Tony and is used by police to talk to him and serve as a intermediary between them and Tony. It all progresses for hours as Tony gets Richard to the apartment while the whole thing is at an impasse. When they finally meet the demand to put Hall on the phone so Tony can get his formal apology, the stern father refuses even though it is his son at the barrel of a gun. Complications continue, along with the circus-like atmosphere surrounding the whole thing that is now being broadcast live on television.
If this sounds a bit like Dog Day Afternoon, it does have much in common. That film was released two years earlier, so who knows if Kiritsis was inspired by it. The fact that the film’s producers cast Pacino in this adds to the intrigue, although Van Sant says they never discussed it. What is really remarkable is how real-life events, such as the Mangione incident, collided with the making of this movie (shot in only 19 days), and the disgruntlement of common people who feel they are being ripped off by billionaires and corporations. So even though it has taken almost half a century for this tale to reach the motion picture screen, it feels more timely than ever.
Skarsgård delivers a completely convincing and dedicated performance even though he doesn’t really resemble the real Kiritsis, who eventually was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to various institutions until being released in 1988. He died in 2005. He definitely has the swagger of a man who thought he was wronged and is at his wits end to do something about it, and actually believing this is the way to do it and get $5 million in return. Montgomery (Stranger Things) is also excellent as his victim, a man trying to survive a horrendous situation, and also dealing with a father who isn’t going to help. Pacino is in briefly but convincingly as a man offended by these demands and not willing to budge even if it means the life of his son. Also impressive as always is Colman Domingo who is in for a few scenes, and Myha’La who makes the most of her role as a reporter who sees this as her ticket to bigger things.
The well-crafted screenplay is by Austin Koldney, and for Van Sant this is a solid return to features after a few critical misses and a successful turn directing several episodes of the acclaimed limited series Capote Vs the Swans. If it isn’t on the level of some of the great director’s top-tier films (Good Will Hunting, Milk, To Die For, My Own Private Idaho, to name a few of my favorites), it is pretty impressive on an indie scale and low budget, and a movie that has 14 Produced By credits (including Cassian Elwes) and a whopping 62 Executive Producer credits. Apparently it takes a village these days to get anything made. This is a worthy film and is looking for distribution.
Title: Dead Man’s Wire
Festival: Venice (Out of Competition)
Director: Gus Van Sant
Screenwriter: Austin Koldney
Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo, Cary Elwes, Myha’la, Al Pacino, Kelly Lynch.
Sales agent: WME
Running time: 1 hr 44 mins
