Review: Dead Man's Wire

Image courtesy of Row K Entertainment

 

Gus Van Sant's first feature in seven years is a throwback to the gritty type of dramas, thrillers, and character studies that were considered mainstream in the 1970s. Set in 1977, "Dead Man's Wire" is a hostage story that bears some similarity to Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon," although it's not set at a bank and the circumstances of the man at the center of the drama are different.

Based on a true story that took place in Indianapolis, Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgard) is a desperate man who fell behind on mortgage payments for a property that he intended to turn into an affordable shopping center for merchants and, as a result, was denied by his mortgage broker, M.L. Hall (Al Pacino) and his son, Richard (Dacre Montgomery).

Kiritsis became enraged after he suspected that the mortgage company attempted to defraud him by allowing the land go into foreclosure and buying it for less than its market value. On a February day, he stopped by the mortgage company's office and, upon finding out that M.L. was on vacation, took his son as a hostage, affixing him with a "dead man's wire," which was connected to a shotgun that would kill the person to whom it was attached if there are sudden movements.

Tony makes a spectacle of the hostage situation, parading Richard in front of police down the street and then stealing one of their cars, which he drives back to his apartment, where much of the rest of the film takes place. Holed up in the apartment, Tony begins making demands - an apology from M.L., a payment of $5 million, and a written promise from the district attorney not to prosecute him - and decides to call in to this favorite disc jockey, Fred Temple (Colman Domingo), who becomes involved by trying to keep Kiritsis calm.

"Dead Man's Wire" doesn't exactly go anywhere that you wouldn't expect for a film of its type, other than the surprising outpouring of sympathy that Tony - who comes off as slightly unhinged - gets from the public. The trial that makes up the very end of the picture brings this wild scenario to a conclusion that, due to what has come before, won't exactly surprise you.

The performances are pretty solid across the board, and Van Sant and company have done a great job of capturing the visual style of the era in which it is set. Everything from the lighting and camerawork help to create the sense that even before he took a hostage, Kiritsis' life was a bleak existence in which he was trapped by his financial situation.

It's great to see Van Sant back behind the camera. Even if this isn't one of his best features, it's still pretty good. The director is one of the best examples of a filmmaker who juggles solid mainstream fare ("Milk" and "Good Will Hunting") with indie filmmaking ("Elephant," "My Own Private Idaho," and "Drugstore Cowboy"). "Dead Man's Wire" somewhat bridges the gap - it feels like a low budget indie drama but isn't nearly as experimental as some of Van Sant's most celebrated work. Overall, it's a solid crime drama about the haves and have-nots that provides some subtle commentary on our current state of existence.