Attica!! Attica!!

Rating: 10/10 (24 October 2007)

Coming from a school of thought who believe that Al Pacino is the god of acting, I began watching Dog Day Afternoon with a lot of expectations. Having now seen it 25 times (And counting), I must say that this movie has surpassed my expectation every time I've seen it. It has been my all time favorite movie for some time now.
Dog Day Afternoon is a plot driven movie with superb characterization & is based on a real life story. It is essentially about two Vietnam War veterans, Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino) & Sal (John Cazale) who have a lot of anti-establishment feeling within them. They disagree with the idea of working hard for a meager amount of money. Sonny is a bi-sexual who has a relationship outside his marriage & wants money for the sex change operation of his boyfriend. Both of them decide to rob New York bank in broad day light along with another colleague who backs out at the last moment.
The bank robbery goes haywire as their haphazard ways to deal with the situation does not hold them in good stead. To start with, the bank is short of cash. The bank employees are also difficult to deal with. When the city police come to know about the robbery, they station themselves outside the bank, leading to a hostage situation. The movie unfolds into a negotiation between Sonny and the cops, & then between Sonny & FBI which is followed by a rescue operation. Sonny meanwhile, takes time out to slam the media which was following this operation, the cops & the whole establishment in general. He distributes some of the stolen money to the public around him, creates a scene around the bank and becomes a superstar of sorts for one day.
Sonny is sharp & takes charge of the negotiations. He surprisingly gets along well with most of the hostages who also show some sympathy for him (A bit of Stockholm syndrome). Sal on the other hand is impassive, confused & does not take charge of the situation. The chemistry between Sonny & Sal is one of the highlights of the movie. However the biggest USP of the movie is Al Pacino's performance. It was clearly his best acting performance according to me. The 'Attica!!' scene, as well as the scene where Sonny has a conversation with his wife on the phone were phenomenal displays of his acting prowess. The whole Attica sequence makes me sit on the edge of my seat every time I watch this movie. John Cazale has also given a great performance. The movie is fast paced & eventful. Some of the scenes with the hostage (The bathroom scene for example) however are slightly over-dramatic. Finally, Sidney Lumet has done a wonderful job as a director in terms of characterization & to make the whole situation come alive. He evolved as a director from his last movie which was Serpico.
In a nutshell I would say that it is one of the great movies of all time. Anyone who calls himself a movie buff, this movie is a must watch for him.