Dog Day Afternoon (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
Based on a true 1972 story, Sidney Lumet's 'Dog Day Afternoon' chronicles a unique bank robbery on a scorching summer afternoon in NYC. Shortly before closing time, scheming loser Sonny (the great Al Pacino) & his slow-witted, zombie-like pal, Sal (The Godfather's John Cazale), burst into a quiet Brooklyn bank for what was intended to be a straightforward robbery, but everything goes terribly wrong, starting with the fact that there's almost no $$ in the bank. The situation quickly goes off the rails. Sonny & Sal take hostages. Wildcard Sal is willing to shoot said hostages if the situation dictates that. The stick-up is discovered. Enough cops to police the entire NY area surround the bank. A huge Sonny-sympathetic crowd gathers to watch the robbery ensue.
The media (live TV mini-cams, reporters) arrive to join the circus. And throughout all of this, police captain Moretti (a solid Charles Durning) tries desperately to negotiate with Sonny while keeping the dangerous spectacle under control. When Sonny's male lover, Leon (a surprising Chris Sarandon), tries to talk Sonny out of the bank, we learn the true motive of the robbery: to finance Leon's sex-change operation. Sonny demands a plane(!) to escape, but the end is near once imposing FBI agent Sheldon (James Broderick) arrives to take over the messy negotiations.
'DDA' speaks about the fickleness of humanity: early on, Sonny does a dance of defiance in front of the bank; looking like a rock star playing to his crowd (he's their momentary hero). But when it becomes known that he is bisexual, the crowd turns on him. This movie also shows how the public responds to mass media coverage of an exciting - if dangerous - event. Sonny seems to enjoy the attention. The crowds become wildly interested in the debacle. And there's even a point in the film when a bank teller goes out in the street with a chance to escape. The cops tell her to run. But no ... she goes back in the bank with the other tellers, proudly exclaiming, "My place is with my girls". In other words, she seems to ENJOY (in a deranged way) that her place is at the center of live TV coverage.
Criminals become instantaneous celebrities because their crimes provide fish bait for the media. Hijackings, robberies, taking hostages ... many of those are committed as publicity stunts. And a unique relationship grows btwn. the criminals, their hostages, the cops, & the press. It's sick, but true. 'DDA' also recalls/speaks about the Stockholm Syndrome: where hostages, barricaded in a bank vault with robbers, began to identify with their captors. And the presence of reporters & TV cameras changed the nature of those events; making them into a happening with its own fuzzy internal logic.
And so, even while 'DDA' showcases the exploitation in American media via live television, the film is mostly a character study of Sonny. Having fought in Vietnam, he's street-smart, charismatic, yet compulsive, & deeply troubled, as well. That all culminates in his haphazard stick-up in order to get $$ for his male lover to have said sex-change operation. Additionally, Sonny happens to be saddled to a shrill, overweight woman with 3 kids. So with all of that, Sonny becomes one of the most interesting modern film characters. As presented by Al Pacino, he's a fascinating character to delve into. And Pacino gives a simply electric performance, jazzed with a lunatic energy that captures a weird blend of confidence & self-deprecation (if not hatred). Pacino knocks it out of the park.
'Dog Day Afternoon' is not perfect. I felt that the narrative propulsion came to a slow burn in the final act. There are some move cliches. i.e., a cop shouts into his bullhorn, "Come on out Sonny, & nobody's going to get hurt". In another instance, Sonny's crazy mother pleads with him from the middle of the street, etc. But overall, this is an involving, darkly humorous, brilliantly acted drama that has a lot to say.
The media (live TV mini-cams, reporters) arrive to join the circus. And throughout all of this, police captain Moretti (a solid Charles Durning) tries desperately to negotiate with Sonny while keeping the dangerous spectacle under control. When Sonny's male lover, Leon (a surprising Chris Sarandon), tries to talk Sonny out of the bank, we learn the true motive of the robbery: to finance Leon's sex-change operation. Sonny demands a plane(!) to escape, but the end is near once imposing FBI agent Sheldon (James Broderick) arrives to take over the messy negotiations.
'DDA' speaks about the fickleness of humanity: early on, Sonny does a dance of defiance in front of the bank; looking like a rock star playing to his crowd (he's their momentary hero). But when it becomes known that he is bisexual, the crowd turns on him. This movie also shows how the public responds to mass media coverage of an exciting - if dangerous - event. Sonny seems to enjoy the attention. The crowds become wildly interested in the debacle. And there's even a point in the film when a bank teller goes out in the street with a chance to escape. The cops tell her to run. But no ... she goes back in the bank with the other tellers, proudly exclaiming, "My place is with my girls". In other words, she seems to ENJOY (in a deranged way) that her place is at the center of live TV coverage.
Criminals become instantaneous celebrities because their crimes provide fish bait for the media. Hijackings, robberies, taking hostages ... many of those are committed as publicity stunts. And a unique relationship grows btwn. the criminals, their hostages, the cops, & the press. It's sick, but true. 'DDA' also recalls/speaks about the Stockholm Syndrome: where hostages, barricaded in a bank vault with robbers, began to identify with their captors. And the presence of reporters & TV cameras changed the nature of those events; making them into a happening with its own fuzzy internal logic.
And so, even while 'DDA' showcases the exploitation in American media via live television, the film is mostly a character study of Sonny. Having fought in Vietnam, he's street-smart, charismatic, yet compulsive, & deeply troubled, as well. That all culminates in his haphazard stick-up in order to get $$ for his male lover to have said sex-change operation. Additionally, Sonny happens to be saddled to a shrill, overweight woman with 3 kids. So with all of that, Sonny becomes one of the most interesting modern film characters. As presented by Al Pacino, he's a fascinating character to delve into. And Pacino gives a simply electric performance, jazzed with a lunatic energy that captures a weird blend of confidence & self-deprecation (if not hatred). Pacino knocks it out of the park.
'Dog Day Afternoon' is not perfect. I felt that the narrative propulsion came to a slow burn in the final act. There are some move cliches. i.e., a cop shouts into his bullhorn, "Come on out Sonny, & nobody's going to get hurt". In another instance, Sonny's crazy mother pleads with him from the middle of the street, etc. But overall, this is an involving, darkly humorous, brilliantly acted drama that has a lot to say.