Dead Man's Wire

Thursday, September 11: This film will be presented with open captions, but please note, ASL interpretation will not be available for the live onstage elements of the screening.

In films like To Die For, Elephant, and Milk, Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant has used cinema as a means of mirroring American life in all its extremes and complexities. Graced with captivating performances from Bill Skarsgård, Oscar nominee Colman Domingo, and Oscar winner Al Pacino (also at the Festival in Easy’s Waltz), Dead Man's Wire finds Van Sant returning to that based-on-real-events mode, tapping into the culture’s hunger for outlaw folk heroes who seek to wrest control from the privileged elite.

It is February, 1977. Having fallen behind on his mortgage and, as a result, lost the commercial property he’d dreamed of developing, aspiring Indianapolis entrepreneur Tony Kiritsis (Skarsgård) shows up for a meeting with Meridian Mortgage Company president Richard Hall (Dacre Montgomery). Tony expected to meet Hall Sr. (Pacino), but the Meridian founder is enjoying a luxury vacation in Florida, a fact that only stokes Tony’s ire.

The feature screenwriting debut of Austin Kolodney (Funny Or Die), Dead Man’s Wire resonates powerfully with present-day class resentments. It’s also darkly funny, wildly entertaining, and rife with appealing supporting characters, especially Domingo’s beloved local disc jockey, who Tony manages to rope into the negotiations.

ANITA LEE