Woodford on Film

9/10 

 Of all the movies I’ve seen at TIFF thus far, Dead Man’s Wire was one the one most anticipated by its audience (I’m pretty sure every seat in the theatre was filled by the time the movie started). The film definitely lives up to some of that hype, even if it had an uphill battle joining an already incredible list of films from director Gus Van Sant. 

 Even though I have found the 1970s fetishism of recent films to be a bit noxious at this point, I think this film manages to go beyond simple time-period pastiche to create something that feels grounded in the films of the era. Probably due to the fact that he started his filmmaking career slightly after the New Hollywood era, Van Sant’s direction shows salient engagement with the stylistic and thematic conventions of the period. Obvious homages to Dog Day Afternoon and Taxi Driver in many elements of the film: Skarsgard’s performance as a standoffish “man of the people” criminal going up against the big banks, the exploration of how news media can exacerbate tragedy for their own gain, alienation. 

 The film also doesn’t shy away from some of the more kitchy elements of 70s film style that are no longer common place in the modern era. Its packed full of long zoom-ins, clunky freeze frames and static image impositions, and grainy news reel footage. The film is also incredibly well lit and coloured which feels like a breath of fresh air in a modern film climate that seems to have largely abandoned lighting as an important element of film style. It also is well paced and has a good sense of what time frame is needed to tell a story, unlike a lot of other films I have seen at the festival which feel like they have been stretched to be as long as possible.

 The performances in this movie were the stand out element of the film in my opinion. Bill Skarsgard once again pulls through with an incredibly unsettling but also somewhat comedic portrayal of Tony Kiritsis. Coleman Domingo is a treat in this film (as always), and Al Panchino gives a brief, odd, but memorable performance. However, the standout performance for me was from Dacre Montgomery as the kidnapee Richard Hall. I hope this role opens him up to playing in some more seriously crafted film because he works well when given a proper script.

 Overall, this film worked for me even if its not incredibly novel in its choice of genre or style. I think the pastiche elements were charming and the film seemed to understand what it needed to deliver in terms of story and length. It’s not an incredibly extraordinary film, but I feel like a well crafted crime thriller is a kind of art in its own right.

Scoring Card:

Formal Technique: 10/10

Story: 7.5/10

Dialogue: 7/10

Performances: 10/10

Overall: 9/10