This is based on a true incident in 1977, when a desperate customer (Bill Skarsgård) took the president of a mortgage company (Dacre Montgomery) hostage with the titular sawed-off shotgun wired around his neck. This standoff leads to the expected back-and-forth with the police. There’s also a reporter on the scene, that doesn’t add any information, only parallels what really happened. Skarsgård creates a character that’s gruff and not especially empathetic, while Montgomery just seems defeated and desperate. Al Pacino has a small, essentially useless part as the company’s owner, while Coleman Domingo adds a bit of class as a local radio DJ. Director Gus Van Sant has staged the event and the subsequent discussions without much tension. As a result, this plays out as a re-creation without much excitement or anxiety. NOTE: The credits feature actual footage from the event, which shows the criminal as an even more outrageous character. 
(2 / 5)
