Dead Man’s Wire (2026 in Spain)

Plot of Dead Man’s Wire: It is February 1977. Tony Kiritsis, a man with a grudge, gets an appointment with the boss of the Meridian Mortgage Company, M.L. Hall, but once in the office gets out a sawn-off shotgun and takes M.L’s son, Richard, prisoner by putting a wire round his neck, and his own neck, connected to the trigger of the shotgun. The intent is therefore, if he is shot down, the gun will go off killing Richard. The duo are able to leave the office and drive away in a police car to Tony’s apartment, which he has wired with explosives to prevent the police from entering. As soon as news of the kidnapping is broadcast a reporter, Linda Page, gets the news and drives to the apartment with her camera man. Tony’s brief appears to be that he had taken out a mortgage on a patch of land but due to his missing a mortgage payment Meridian had reclaimed it just when a deal was to be done with a supermarket development. Over days Tony negotiates with the authorities that he will receive an apology, get a press conference on national TV, get immunity from prosecution, and several million dollars. Even though M.L refuses to apologise it seems to be looking good for Tony otherwise.

Content: No sex or nudity. Some smoking and, I think, a bit of alcohol consumption. Tony gets into the office and manages to rig the shotgun to the back of Richard’s neck, and his own and then with some difficulty manages to get back to the apartment. Once there they relax a bit, and Tony contacts the DJ Fred Temple who facilitates much of the contact with the police. The police get Tony’s brother on their side to convince him that the deal being made is true. Virtually everything is seen from Tony’s viewpoint, but there is more going on.

A View: The film was well liked by the critics, and Bill Skarsgärd’s performance considered ‘fearless’. He manages to play Tony as a completely mad bastard. Colman Domingo, as the DJ has a really terrific voice. However, despite the critical thumbs ups what is essentially a slim plot has not attracted viewers to the cinema, so it does not seem to have made any money. But despite the lack of footfall it is worth catching where it is still on, or will be worth the cost of a download when it becomes available.

Fun Fact: Al Pacino shot his scenes in one day.