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Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
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Movie Review by Tony 
March 1st, 2006
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Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" is an example of what a film is about, and what a film is REALLY about. Hearing the plot-line it sounds like a simple bank robbery hostage story which we see a lot of nowadays with films such as "Firewall" or "Hostage". But this film is brainy, tougher, and also a true story and really occurred. It also features Al Pacino's finest performance in his career which features memorable performance after memorable performance. This is a character study of a human being along with everything that goes on in the world of the bank. It's telling two stories.
On a hot Brooklyn afternoon, two optimistic but clueless nobodies set out to rob a bank. Sonny (Al Pacino) is the mastermind behind this, his zombie like partner is Sal (John Cazale) and from the get go things start to go from bad to worse. They had a third partner who flutters under the pressure and leaves those two to handle it. Disaster, chaos, and nonsense ensues as the cops, crowds, TV cameras, and even the pizza man arrive on this scene. It was supposed to be a quick and fast robbery but turns out to be an all day media frenzy and event.
Okay. There is your plot-line, or so it seems. There is much more then meets the eye with this film. The question asked from the get go is why is he robbing this bank? Well, he's a man who is married with kids, but he is also married to a homosexual man and he is robbing the bank to fund his partners sex change operation surgery. He is a complex man living a complex life and trying to please everyone in his life but ultimately failing completely. When he fails, it brings out rage, anger, and intense emotions.
Pacino is the life and blood of this film as he's in nearly every scene, running around, and trying to please everyone. He's nice to his hostages, nice to his partner, trying to work with the police, his wife over the phone, his mom shows up, his life partner and everyone. You see on Pacino's face a life full of exhaustion being worn out, beat up by life and trying to please all the characters and people in his life and still it's not good enough and still he fails. He has reached the point of complete and total break down. This is a performance and a movie character that is a true gem in cinema with other classic movie characters. It has such humanity and complexity to it.
The film can best be described as a tragic human comedy with shades of drama and thriller to it. The world of the bank is full of different bank tellers and bank employees but they are not colorful characters, but rather people. None of them stand out, they act and react as normal people would in this situation. No one is over the top or too colorful. But every role or person in the film you learn about them from just a few lines of speech and you know who they are. No flashback stories but rather shown then explored.
The film also explores the media and it's affect on bank robbers, serial killers, and how they become stars overnight by pulling stunts like this. Even the pizza man yells "I'm a f*cking star", as he's shown delivering a pizza to the bank robbers. It's a joke and good TV to some but to others such as the Pacino character it's out of desperation and need. The film explores and touches on so many issues it's worth repeated views to see what you could have missed or what you want to see again. It's such a multi-layered and deep film.
Al Pacino's performance is chilling as this man who from the minute he was born and who he was surrounded by was just doomed to fail. In another life with other people and family members, he could have been successful, valued, and respected. Instead of desperately trying to please everyone and still not being appreciated or it being good enough for those around him. It has moments of humanity, comedy, love, and everything you could want in a film. Such a classic and memorable film.
"Dog Day Afternoon" is one of my favorite films of all time, I only wish I was around in 1975 to view it. Thank god for DVD as I can I relive and cherish all the classic movie characters and films from the great time period of the 1970's in film. If you have not seen it, do yourself a favor and see "Dog Day Afternoon".
-Tony Farinella
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