From the second this movie opens it plops you right down in the scorching, sweaty streets of the 70s. No exposition needed, just a quick look around gives you the zeitgeist of the times. Tension is boiling over, something’s about to give, and this is the day that Al Pacino decides to rob a bank. The rest from there is a fascinating descent into madness and stupidity as you watch a desperate, in over his head man risk everything to stay out of prison and defeat a system that holds all the cards. Dog Day Afternoon is anchored by an electric performance by Pacino, supported by one of the too few amazing performances we got from John Cazale, and expertly paced by director Sidney Lumet and company. All of the characters, no matter how small, end up explored and developed over time, and all of the relationships that develop between the police, the robbers, and the hostages becomes the meat and potatoes of what might appear on the surface to be an action film. Dog Day Afternoon is full of real characters, and is second only to Airheads as en ensemble work set entirely during a bank robbery. And that’s no small praise. I mean, Airheads is awesome.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Short Round: Dog Day Afternoon (1975) ****/*****
From the second this movie opens it plops you right down in the scorching, sweaty streets of the 70s. No exposition needed, just a quick look around gives you the zeitgeist of the times. Tension is boiling over, something’s about to give, and this is the day that Al Pacino decides to rob a bank. The rest from there is a fascinating descent into madness and stupidity as you watch a desperate, in over his head man risk everything to stay out of prison and defeat a system that holds all the cards. Dog Day Afternoon is anchored by an electric performance by Pacino, supported by one of the too few amazing performances we got from John Cazale, and expertly paced by director Sidney Lumet and company. All of the characters, no matter how small, end up explored and developed over time, and all of the relationships that develop between the police, the robbers, and the hostages becomes the meat and potatoes of what might appear on the surface to be an action film. Dog Day Afternoon is full of real characters, and is second only to Airheads as en ensemble work set entirely during a bank robbery. And that’s no small praise. I mean, Airheads is awesome.
