A great piece of Al Pacino's early work

Rating: Null/10 (20 September 2003)

This movie was a joyride. All I knew beforehand was that it had Pacino in the leading role and Cazale supporting. I also knew about the hostage situation being the main plot. Everything else was new to me and Al Pacino being one of my favorite actors I was more than thrilled when I noticed that Dog Day Afternoon would be on TV tonight. And it wasn't a disappointment. Right from the start, when the third robber with Pacino and Cazale gave up, I knew that this is going to be interesting. For me that was a totally new way to start a bank robbery. And it got interesting, I can say that. The dominant feeling during the film was that the two robbers were completely out of their element and in the wrong place. The whole time I had a feeling that Cazale's character Sal would do something hazardous and blow the whole thing. Pacino's Sonny was also a big question mark. What would a nice guy like him do in a situation like that? And I couldn't get a straight answer to that question. Although he had big problems with money and family he didn't seem that desperate. Well, they say that the quiet ones are the most dangerous and unpredictable ones in reality. This quiet and odd pair got my sympathy right from the start and had it all the way till the end. Sonny was the one who exceeded himself time after time (or so it seemed) and Sal was only trying to hang on and do what Sonny tells him to. It was a surprise that they got as far as they did. Also the other people in the movie were a bit different than in most of these kind of crime movies. There were no panicing and screaming hostages or cops with a too heavy trigger finger. The usual and annoying cliches were left out. The cops and the crooks had an unusual understanding between each other, for example in the negotiation situations. I've never seen the cops saving the villain from a raging civilian when the villain has come out to negotiate. Maybe I haven't seen enough these kind of movies or then it's just one of the particularities of this one, I don't know. Anyways, the great suspense and atmosphere lasts all the way till the end of the film when the final solution takes place. Also the solution feels really realistic (well, it is based on a true story) and it also seems to be the only right one to end the story. As a whole, Dog Day Afternoon is a great and entertaining film with all its unconventional characters and situations. Pacino also makes a convincing performance while other performances stay in the background much because of Pacino's great work.