REVIEW: Gus Van Sant Delivers A Gripping Take On True Events In Dead Man’s Wire

On a quiet winter day in early February of 1977, Indianapolis was shaken by the 63-hour hostage situation between Tony Kiritsis, and mortgage broker, Richard O. Hall. Though it ended peacefully, the events gripped the nation due to it’s live coverage via television and radio. This incident helped lay the foundation for how media would broadcast events, like this, moving forwards. Now in 2026, those events are being brought to the big screen in Gus Van Sant’s crime thriller, Dead Man’s Wire.

Dead Man’s Wire follows the story of Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård), an Indianapolis resident, who believed that his mortgage company, Meridian Mortgage, was trying to cheat him out of a piece of land by not opting to extend his loans. In a bout of rage, Kiritsis takes hostage, mortgage broker Richard O. Hall (Dacre Montgomery), via a “dead man’s wire”. This device involved a steel wire around Hall’s neck attached to a sawed-off, double barrel shotgun and connected to the gun’s trigger. Dependent on how tight the cable was, the barrel was pointed at the back of Hall’s head, and if pulled too far, it would trigger the shot. Through the next 63 hours, the audience is taken on a whirlwind of a ride as they watch the police negotiate a peaceful end to the standoff via Detective Michael Grable (Cary Elwes), and Kiritsis. The audience also gets to watch as Kiritsis vents his frustrations to his hostage, Hall, and Radio DJ, Fred Temple (Colman Domingo), whom he calls frequently throughout the situation.

With films such as Milk and Elephant in his wheelhouse, Van Sant is no stranger to adding his own creative touch to films based on true events. Dead Man’s Wire is no different. Though events of the film don’t precisely add up to the events in 1977, Van Sant does a wonderful job of designing a film the showcases the little man getting revenge on the corporate money house that plans to screw him over. He delves well into the mind of Kiritsis as he tries to explain his motives with explosive monologues and perfectly timed moments of tension between he and Hall. It’s these moments that allow the film to shine and help keep the audience engaged, even during slower moments in the plot.

However, this film would not be as captivating as it was if it wasn’t for the cast. Skarsgård once again delivers a spectacular performance as Kiritsis. It’s not often when you find an actor capable of making an unhinged man such as Kiritsis seem almost normal. There are many moments throughout his performance where Skarsgård makes the audience forget dire situation caused by Kiritsis based solely on Skarsgård’s performance. Domingo is another standout in the film as the smooth talking, easy listening Radio DJ, Fred Temple. Domingo’s voice is absolute perfection when it plays across the airways, and his performance matches, especially in scenes with Skarsgård. The audience has no problem believing someone like Kirtsis would call someone like Temple based on these two’s performances. Elwes performance as Grabel is transformative. For most of the film, I did not recognize the actor due to the amazing makeup team behind the film and Elwes wonderful performance.

Dead Man’s Wire is ninety plus minutes of the audience asking themselves, “Will he or won’t he?”, in the best way possible. Through spectacular performances and superb directing, I would recommend checking this film out during these long winter days.

Grade: B+