Bill Skarsgård Leads Gus Van Sant's Dead Man's Wire in a Strong Return

Collider calls Dead Man's Wire a return to form for director Gus Van Sant, led by what the review describes as a career-best turn from Bill Skarsgård.

The film, based on a real-life case, stars Skarsgård as Tony Kiritsis, a man in Indianapolis who holds Richard "Dick" Hall (Dacre Montgomery) hostage with a sawed-off shotgun wired to the hostage's neck while demanding $5 million, no charges and an apology from mortgage broker M.L. Hall (Al Pacino). The cast also includes Colman Domingo, Myha'la, Cary Elwes, Kelly Lynch and Daniel R. Hill. The screenplay is by Austin Kolodney, who began writing it in 2020 with help from documentarians Alan Berry and Mark Enochs; the review notes the film was shot in roughly 20 days. Runtime is listed at 105 minutes and the release date is January 9, 2026, with the film now playing in theaters.

The review praises Skarsgård's physical, empathetic performance and calls the film Van Sant's best in ages, probably since 2008's Milk, while also noting the picture's small-scale approach limits its impact and that the story never fully embraces its wackier possibilities. It highlights the movie's pointed critique of institutions and says Skarsgård's work should have drawn awards attention, even as supporting players are described as underutilized.

Key Topics

Culture, Bill Skarsgård, Gus Van Sant, Dead Man's Wire, Tony Kiritsis, Dacre Montgomery