Dead Man's Wire

Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Cary Elwes, Myha'la, Colman Domingo, Al Pacino, John Robinson, Kelly Lynch, Todd Gable
Running Time: 106 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)   

During Gus Van Sant's biographical crime thriller Dead Man's Wire, a voiceover declares that holding onto anger is the equivalent of drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. But by film's end, we're left wondering whether that's true or the real life antagonist actually did get the satisfaction he sought. Eerily prescient, it focuses on this man with a grudge and the extreme measures he takes against those he thinks wronged him. And though his intended victim isn't around for the consequences, he finds a suitable replacement, leading to an unusual standoff that sends the cops and media into a frenzy. 

Initially, the police want this abductor to feel as if he's receiving the attention he so desperately craves, hoping he'll drop his guard long enough for them to go in for the kill. But what happens when the public chooses to view him as a sympathetic figure screwed over by a soulless corporation? With a compelling tale like his, it's no surprise many can relate, enabling them to somehow see past whatever violence he's capable of, as scary as that seems.    

On Tuesday, February 8th, 1977 in Indianapolis, a high strung, mustachioed man named Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård) arrives at the Meridian Mortage Company building for an appointment with CEO M.L. Hall (Al Pacino). Entering with a sling on his arm and a long box, an agitated Tony makes a scene when informed M.L. is vacationing in Florida. His son and company President Richard (Dacre Montgomery) intervenes, agreeing to meet with him. But once inside the office, Tony removes a shotgun from the box, wiring it to Richard's neck and rigging it to fire should he attempt to escape. 

Believing the Halls cheated him out of money on a land development deal, Tony calls this abduction into the police himself, hoping to expose the Halls. With a wire wrapped around his neck, Richard's taken out of the building and onto the street by Tony, attracting the attention of Detective Michael Grable (Cary Elwes) and TV news reporter Linda Page (Myha'la), who's looking to raise her profile with a big story. As the FBI closes in and Richard's life hangs in the balance, Tony uses local radio DJ Fred Temple (Colman Domingo) to send his message to the masses. But with time running out, he wants money and an apology, or the shotgun goes off.

Aside from Skarsgård's genuinely unsettling performance and a remarkable sense of time and place, the film's greatest asset is how quickly it gets down to business, letting the smaller details pour out as this situation escalates. From the start, there's something off enough about this guy that the pressure's on to give him what he wants, or at least make him think he's getting it. It's also intriguing to watch these opening office scenes with the knowledge that Tony would have been immediately tackled at the front door if this occurred today. But it's the 70's, establishing him as just another irritated client on a Tuesday. 

Viewed through a pre-9/11 lens with no security cams, it's easier to see how Tony pulls this off, his unusual shotgun contraption throwing off authorities as they proceed with heightened caution. All of this gives Tony time to lay out his terms and milk the public's attention while a terrified Richard suffers through the ordeal, his life potentially ending with one sudden move in the wrong direction. 

Montgomery's performance conveys a thinly layered sense of guilt that Richard and his father really screwed this man out of his cash since that's what this company does. Pacino's big scene as M.L. confirms just how little respect he has for his own son, who's essentially a subservient hatchet man. Even with Richard's life on the line, the elder Hall proves too stubborn and entitled to give an inch, frustrating both Tony and the FBI. Pacino's subtle here, never hamming it up as his character comes across completely unaffected and incapable of relinquishing control. 

While Van Sant gets a little heavy handed as he flashes back and forth between TV broadcast recreations and the actual action, tension remains at a fever pitch throughout, delivered in a style intentionally reminiscent of Pacino's Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon. A menacing, unhinged Skarsgård exudes false bravado as the walls close in on Tony, who still plans to walk away scot-free. Domingo also impresses with a nuanced, charismatic turn as the radio DJ caught in the middle of these volatile negotiations. As the only person Tony trusts, if not flat-out idolizes, you'd think using him as a liaison would give the FBI an advantage. And for a while, it does.  

Logic dictates Tony can't get away with this, but his belief he will is what makes him dangerous. The closing title cards revealing the fates of those involved are legitimately surprising, as is the real news footage that appears over the credits. But by depicting the genesis of similar events we'll see play out over the following decades, Dead Man's Wire shows just how easily criminals become celebrities. And while they continue to bask in that adulation and exposure, it still still says as much about us as them.                  

Leave the World Behind

Director: Sam Esmail
Starring: Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha'la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans, Kevin Bacon
Running Time: 141 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Writer/director Sam Esmail's Leave the World Behind follows a long tradition of apocalyptic thrillers that stretch beyond the likes of M. Night Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin from earlier this year. Comparing the two, this isn't as much a departure in tone than execution, as the Mr. Robot creator prioritizes interpersonal relationships over mystery. By doing this, his characters exist to make broader generalizations about America's infrastructural and societal vulnerabilities, zeroing in on how people respond to chaos and crisis. 

Based upon Rumaan Alam's 2020 novel, it's easy to see how these elements attracted producers Barack and Michelle Obama, even if it's not necessarily the type of project you'd expect to see them credited on. But it is one that very much exists in the here and now, setting its sights firmly on a frightening near-future that already seems to have arrived. There are eye-rolling moments and plot holes, but as far as doomsday scenarios go, it doesn't fly too far off the rails. We watch as these people scramble, their best and worst traits coming to the surface in the midst of an unpredictably hopeless situation.

New York-based advertising executive Amanda Sandford (Julia Roberts) wakes up one morning and informs her college professor husband Clay (Ethan Hawke) they're going on an impromptu vacation to Long Island with their two kids Rose (Farrah Mackenzie) and Archie (Charlie Evans). Upon arriving at the luxurious rental house, they decide to hit the beach, where an incident involving an out-of-control oil tanker and their sudden loss of TV and Wi-Fi raises suspicions. But it isn't until the home's self-proclaimed owner G.H. Scott (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myha'la) arrive at the front door in the middle of the night that things get complicated.

Financial advisor G.H. cites a citywide blackout as their reason for returning, and while a distrustful Amanda isn't buying it, the more amiable Clay agrees to let them stay overnight when G.H. offers them a refund. With news alerts reporting hackers are behind the cyberattack, the two families argue about the right approach, gradually realizing this situation is far worse than any of them assumed. With the clock running out to formulate a plan, Amanda further questions how much G.H. and Ruth really know, as everyone's chances of survival hang in the balance.

It's to Roberts' credit that she's all in for this since it just might be her most unlikeable character yet. The performance is essentially a more nuanced take on Sandra Bullock's privileged white woman turn in Crash, complete with some of the racist undertones. Amanda isn't shy about sharing her world view in the film's third wall breaking opening scene, establishing herself as a miserable, self-loathing elitist who indiscriminately despises everyone. The actress believably pulls this off, all while exploring some greyer areas that have us questioning Amanda's true feelings and motivations.

Hawke's more easygoing, far less confrontational Clay seems to accept H.G.'s story with little hesitation, even as he sees no issue with the homeowner and his daughter being relegated to the basement. But H.G. knows something more than he's letting on, and to a far lesser extent, so does Ruth, which only adds to the tension. Mahershala Ali is subtly effective as the calm, steady voice of reason, particularly shining in the scenes where he and Roberts' characters loosen up, discovering more in common than either anticipated.

Myha'la sort of steals the film as rebellious, free thinking Ruth, going toe-to-toe with Roberts in some of the best scenes. While Amanda's disdain for the young woman is evident from the moment they meet, Ruth's easily the most observant and practical of the bunch. Telling it like it is without fear of consequences, she pushes the buttons that shake them out of their bewilderment and complacency.

Self-driving Tesla car wrecks, severed body parts, plane crashes, alarmingly large herds of deer and deafening noises aren't isolated incidents and indicate a worst case scenario that's further confirmed when they step outside. Kevin Bacon appears as a paranoid survivalist and it's downright surreal to see him and Hawke together on screen for first time, maybe finally disproving that popular theory they're the same person. There's also a pretty humorous subplot involving daughter Rose's obsession with finishing a Friends binge cut short by the cyberattack. This seems like a throwaway joke, but Esmail remains committed to paying it off.

By the time viewers are clued into how cataclysmic this event is, it's too late for the characters, who will either turn on each other or unite to pull through. At points, you'd be forgiven for thinking the plot's a troll job intended to send conspiracy theorists into a tailspin, especially since it's so firmly rooted in current events, with few, if any, supernatural elements at play. Its ironic conclusion doesn't insult the audience's intelligence either, with Esmail resisting that temptation to explain everything away. If nothing else, it makes an unusually strong case for holding on to your physical media. 

Like 2022's White Noise, or even the more similar 80's cult classic Miracle Mile, Leave the World Behind deals with philosophical and existential questions resulting from such a disaster, especially the mistrust. It's in good company, despite conveniently withholding certain information and biting off more than it can chew at nearly two and a half hours. Thankfully the cast carries it, with talented actors squaring off in a genre they've rarely tackled.