The funny heist gone wrong

Rating: 8/10 (22 November 2007)

"Dog Day Afternoon" is about an inept bank robbery that leads to a hostage situation. It sounds like a humorless premise, but humor is the prominent element in the film with moments of drama and tension mixed in.
Al Pacino is Sonny, the leader of the heist turned hostage situation. Pacino is perfect in his role as a nervous improviser. His character is multi-faceted and interesting, proving sometimes knowledgeable despite being engaged in an inept operation and sympathetic. John Cazale is also notable as the accomplice of few words, Sal. Cazale is at his best with his expressions during the tense final sequence. The hostages and police forces are well-played as well. It was interesting to contrast the styles of Moretti, initially representing the police side and trying to cobble a solution together and Sheldon, the organized chess-master FBI agent.
On paper the hostage situation story sounds typical, but this film rises far above any clichÃ©s. The film gains strength from its humoristic approach to the situation, which uses irony and absurdity to great effect. However, there are a number of great dramatic moments as well and an interesting consideration of Vietnam, trans-sexuality and other social issues. I found that after the initial hold-up gone wrong I slowly calmed to the hostage situation before the effective and tense end sequence. I didn't find the film's second half aside from the ending to be as consistently engaging as the first, but overall this film has a novel and interesting approach to portraying a hostage situation.