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1975
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DOG
DAY AFTERNOON
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STARRING:AL
PACINO,JOHN CAZALE,CHARLES DURNING,CHRIS SARANDON,JAMES BRODERICK,SULLY
BOYAR,PENELOPE ALLEN,CAROL KANE,MARCIA JEAN KURTZ,AMY LEVITT,JUDITH
MALINA,SUSAN PERETZ
BASED
ON AN ARTICLE BY P.F. KLUGE & THOMAS MOORE
SCREENPLAY
BY FRANK PIERSON
PRODUCED
BY MARTIN BREGMAN & MARTIN ELFAND
DIRECTED
BY SIDNEY LUMET
GENRE:BIOGRAPHY/CRIME/THRILLER
RATED:AUSTRALIA:M/UK:15/USA:R
RUNNING
TIME:124 MIN
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Reuniting
Serpico
pair Al Pacino and Sidney Lumet, Dog Day Afternoon is based
on the true story of Sonny (Al Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale), two
Vietnam veteran's turned clumsy bank robbers . Relying on second hand
information, Sonny and Sal hold up a Bronx bank, stumbling through
the motions of their poorly planned heist, the clincher when they
realise that there is no money in the vault. Over their heads, they
decide to cut their losses and leave, but do not get far when faced
with a battalion of police patrolmen, detectives and sharp shooters.
Now a hostage situation, Sonny tries to negotiate a way out through
Detective Sargent Eugene Moretti (Charles Durning) while trying to
please the hostages, his gloomy partner and a large crowd of people
who have decided to show their support for Sonny who - due to the
mass media attention - has become an instant celebrity. Yet the situation
takes an unexpected twist when Sonny's gay lover Leon (Chris Sarandon)
appears on the scene and confirms that the money from the robbery
was to be used to fund Leon's sex change operation.
Dog Day Afternoon is a film which flows very well regardless
of its different sub genres, changing from brilliant melodrama, to
comedic tragedy, to thrilling heist film in a flash, with the twist
of Sonny revealing himself to be a bi-sexual (with the emergence of
his "wife" Leon) a move that elevates the film to a new
level. It also deals with the themes of celebrity and the media (which
Lumet will continue to pursue a year later with his TV satire Network).
Perhaps the most messed up of the pantheon of flawed characters from
the 1970's, Sonny is a man that craves attention, needs affection
and desperately seeks approval from those around him. Living a bizarre
double life (with an obese wife and two children on one side, and
a gender confused male lover on the other), he has been led to believe
he is a person of no worth (with only his babying mother offering
any kind of support) and that his robbing a bank would rid him of
all of his problems.
As Sonny, Pacino delivers one of his best performances, filled with
intensity, sadness and -above all - excellent comedic timing (as seen
in his bumbling attempt at pulling his rifle out of a box, his response
to when a would be accomplice bails at the last minute and his hilarious
reaction when he finds out there is no money in the vault). Pacino
goes through an astonishing gauntlet of emotions; the dictation of
his final will is a sincere, quiet moment when compared to the draining
(and often improvised) phone conversations he has with his two wives,
Chris Sarandon in particular giving as good as it gets.
Pacino's exchanges with Charles Durning almost come off like prize
fights, and his chemistry with John Cazale (who is excellent as the
introverted Sal) is electric. Had Cazale not have succumbed to cancer,
he and Pacino could have been one of the better double acts if their
work from this film and The Godfather Part II was anything
to go by.
Frank Pierson's rapid fire screenplay is full of many memorable quotes,
the majority delivered extremely well by Pacino, while Lumet's excellent
direction reminds of the constricting atmosphere he brought to 12
Angry Men which - much like this film - featured
only a few sets, only this time a jury room is replaced with a bank.
Lumet brings a claustrophobic air, a real sense of danger without
the benefit of a score to help establish mood. This is a movie stripped
free of any tricks or effects, and Lumet captures it in all of its
raw, sweaty and gritty glory. |
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