Through every sense, Gus Van Sant takes us back to the 70s
Dead Man's Wire is a whole lot of fun; it is thrilling and teeming with depth [...] Visually, sonically, and thematically rapt, Dead Man's Wire proves 2026 cinema is off to a strong start.
What constitutes a life that is worth saving in the eyes of the American media? On a supremely stylish wild ride, Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man's Wire explores the true story of Tony Kiritsis. An American man driven to an act of violence by the abuse of a system made to protect him. The film seamlessly blends themes of voyeurism, capitalistic abuse, police violence, race, and class dynamics while remaining thrilling and vibrant.
By leaning completely into the 1977 aesthetic in which the film is set, Dead Man's Wire will transport you completely into 70’s America. From beginning to end, a tone is established so firmly that you would be able to identify the era from sound alone. Rather than clunky expository moments, tremendous performances from Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, and Colman Domingo provide insight into each character from their first spoken line onwards. Through the accents in conversation, we are introduced to the class difference between our two leads, Tony (Skarsgård) and Richard (Montgomery), with only body language during conversation, much is revealed about these two characters. The overall soundscape of the film establishes its themes with extreme care and precision, a score by Danny Elfman completing the transformation and fully immersing us in a 1970s crime drama.
Aside from strong anchoring performances, the film's greatest strength is its intertextual playfulness and flexibility. Dead Man’s Wire avoids the trap of nostalgia bait and instead uses the 1970s thriller and genre of cop television shows as its artistic inspiration. Avoiding overt references, Van Sant creates a film that could have truly come out of the 1970s, deliciously stylised and often perfectly odd. Accents of a bygone era, time, and reality were often played with, even switching perspectives to suddenly seem almost like a true crime film. The flexibility of the film's text allows for many themes to flow through without feeling overwrought or ostentatious.
Dead Man's Wire is a whole lot of fun; it is thrilling and teeming with depth. The third act slows down slightly, bringing us down from a high and focusing more on the humanity of the story. This change in pace may lose some audience members' attention, but it certainly did not lose mine while transitioning from a high pace tension to a slower, anxiety-ridden pace. The devaluation of human life in entertainment and a true to the 1970’s fanatic obsession over criminals is tied in wonderfully in the film's conclusion, all while mirroring the modern world.
Visually, sonically, and thematically rapt, Dead Man's Wire proves 2026 cinema is off to a strong start.
Dead Man's Wire is now playing in select theatres and opens nationwide on January 16, 2026.
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