Dead Man’s Wire: Gus Van Sant’s surreal take on a 1977 kidnapping
Mar 20th 2026 · World
Gus Van Sant and screenwriter Austin Kolodney dramatize Tony Kiritsis’s 1977 hostage case with surreal black comic flourishes, notable performances, and a sharp focus on media spectacle rather than the victim’s trauma.
- Film adapts the 1977 Indianapolis hostage case in which Tony Kiritsis tied a dead man’s wire to a mortgage broker, broadcasting demands on air.
- Directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Austin Kolodney.
- Bill Skarsgård plays Kiritsis and Dacre Montgomery plays the held broker, with Al Pacino, Myha'la, and Colman Domingo in notable supporting roles.
- The film highlights the media spectacle and live broadcasts that turned the crime into a national event.
- The movie focuses on questions about the kidnapper’s sanity and public spectacle while giving limited attention to the victim’s long term trauma.