Stories of Desperation: Dead Man's Wire and No Other Choice
Desperate times call for desperate measures. It’s a common theme, and two recent movies take it to both dramatic and comedic places.
Dead Man’s Wire
Fans of gritty 70s crime films like Dog Day Afternoon will find a lot to like in Dead Man’s Wire, a tense hostage tale.
It’s the true story of Tony Kiritsis, an Indianapolis man who fell behind on his mortgage payments in 1977. When the company denied his requests for more time, he took broker Richard Hall hostage for 63 hours and wired a shotgun muzzle to the back of Richard’s head.
Director Gus Van Sant and writer Austin Kolodney build suspense brilliantly, showing Tony’s frequent mood swings and hunger for fame at any cost.
Their smartest move is in casting. The movie features a couple of well-known actors in supporting roles: Colman Domingo as a radio DJ and Al Pacino as Richard’s father.
The leads, however, are two lesser-known talents: Bill Skarsgard as Tony and Dacre Montgomery as Richard. As a result, the audience has fewer preconceived notions and can view the characters as real people. Skarsgard is especially effective as an emotional powder keg; he deserved to be in the Oscar conversation.
Dead Man’s Wire shows how seemingly simple actions have drastic consequences. It’s a period piece that’s disturbingly relevant today.
No Other Choice
For someone like me who’s been laid off twice, the South Korean film No Other Choice is both cathartic and depressing.
When Man-Su gets fired from a papermaking company, he’s at his wits’ end. To ensure he gets the job he wants, he decides to murder his three competitors.
Director Park Chan-wook’s thriller fits the age of artificial intelligence and modernization. It has one too many subplots and goes on too long, but still hits home for those who’ve faced Man-su’s plight (even if they haven’t taken his drastic measures).
Byung-hun Lee is excellent as Man-su. The audience is somewhat repelled but still understands why he does what he does.
No Other Choice isn’t in the same league as Parasite, another darkly comic South Korean film that’s topped “Best of the 21st Century” lists for good reason. It explores many of the same themes, though, showing they remain as pertinent as ever.