It's OK to be Gay! It's not OK to rob banks, though

Rating: 8/10 (3 October 2017)

"Dog Day Afternoon" definitely belongs in the category of: "this must be based on a true story, otherwise it's completely implausible". The idea of a failed and amateurishly executed bank heist turning into an absurd media-circus and a giant metaphor for overkill situations in recent American history, I can still believe. But the crazy revelation that the whole scheme was thought up because money was needed for the sex-change operation of the homosexual robber's lover, well that is so surreal and far-fetched that it simply has to be true! If any aspiring scriptwriter would present this type of idea to a random producer, he/she wouldn't receive a single penny for it. But you know what? The biggest accomplishment of writer Frank Pierson, director Sidney Lumet and – of course – the phenomenal actor Al Pacino – is that they managed to keep the essence of the story rather small and personal. All the socially relevant themes are downgraded to mere sub plots while the private story of Sonny is gradually put forward. He's intelligent but insecure, anxiety-ridden and utterly self-destructive. The way Al Pacino depicts him is righteously referred to as one of the most powerful and persuasive performances in the history of cinema. John Cazale gives away a nearly as impressive performance as Sal, the somewhat simple but loyal partner-in-crime, although obviously less expressive and energetic than Pacino.