The $30 million thriller that's got everyone talking

Those Who Wish Me Dead, a tightly wound thriller from Taylor Sheridan, has hit theaters, and it's got everyone talking. The film follows Hannah Faber, a smokejumper haunted by her tragic past, who crosses paths with Connor Casserly, a young boy being hunted by assassins.

When you hear the name Taylor Sheridan,your mind probably jumps straight to the Yellowstone franchise,sprawling Westerns with fractured families. But Sheridan was a writer in his own right before he ever jumped into the Paramount+ machine, and he was known for tightly wound thrillers about violence and survival and trying to do the right thing.

An echo of Sydney's 2024 institutional buy-up

Those Who Wish Me Dead is one of the best examples of that, because it's smaller than Yellowstone, and it doesn't have that mythic quality that Mystic River has, but it's the perfcet late-night watch because of its simplicity.

The film follows Hannah Faber, a smokejumper haunted by her tragic past who crosses paths with Connor Casserly,a young boy being hunted by assassins after he was witness to something he absolutely should not have seen.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

As Connor tries to survive in the Montana wilderness, Hannah becomes his best chance of making it out alive. But who is the unnamed buyer who wants Connor dead, and what is their motive?

The film stars Angelina Jolie as Hannah Faber, a smokejumper with a painful past; Finn Little as Connor Casserly, the young boy on the run; Jon Bernthal as Ethan Sawyer, a sheriff's deputy trying to help him; Aidan Gillen as Jack Blackwell, one of the assassins hunting Connor; Nicholas Hoult as Patrick Blackwell, Jack's brother; Medina Senghore as Allison Sawyer, Ethan's wife; Tyler Perry as Arthur Phillip; and Jake Weber as Owen Casserly, Connor's father.

A familiar pattern from the 2019 crash

But what's really going on in the Montana wilderness? Is it just a simple case of a young boy being hunted by assassins, or is there something more sinister at play?

The film's use of the Montana wilderness as a backdrop for the action is a familiar pattern from the 2019 crash, where a similar setup was used to great effect.

What auditors flagged in the May filing

But what auditors flagged in the May filing that could have led to this situation? Was it a simple case of a young boy being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was there something more to it?

The film's use of the May filing as a plot device is a clever move,but what really happened in that filing that could have led to this situation?