The Most-Defining Movie of the Boiling 70's ...

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 2011)

You all know the story: a simple bank robbery supposed to take twenty minutes, during a hot summer afternoon
From a simple but terrific premise, Sidney Lumet made a masterpiece out of one of the most bizarre and memorable media freaks shows, like only the 70's could have featured. With the Al Pacino and John Cazale's tandem back on the road, proving their immense versatility as you totally forget that one year before, in a no less prestigious crime film, Al knew it was John, and gave him the kiss of death in an immortal movie scene
"Dog Day Afternoon" is a thrilling, captivating, and exhilarating experience honoring the zany unpredictability of life. Just when you think you had enough of surprises, something comes to shock, amuse, or disorient you. It's like a sitcom structured by a solid narrative and driven by an amazing Oscar winning script, full of priceless one-liners. And the film inspires so many emotions you wonder if this will have a happy or a sad ending. It's both tragic and comic, sometimes heart-breaking, sometimes hilarious. Like Sonny's ridiculous over-cautiousness to find out that there's no money and worse, that police was already waiting from outside. Not to mention the way he struggled to get the rifle out of the flower-box, the third accomplice who chickened out... from the beginning, the job was so amateurish both the hostages and the audience wondered what was going on. The movie opens with the realism of "Serpico" and a nut that'll be very hard to crack, somewhat like "12 Angry Men"'s verdict, and a character so sympathetic, while realizing it will be a very long day
Sympathetic but not pathetic... progressively, there's a revelation. Sonny Wortzik is more than a clumsy bank robber: the guy has nerves, a heart, he acts tough, but is put in his place when he curses. He definitely doesn't want anyone to get hurt. And the genius of the script is Sal. He literally 'salted' the film giving it that thriller flavor, with his scary look and eagerness to kill anyone. John Cazale totally embodies the idea of a man who has nothing to lose, and doesn't want to go to jail. With this ticking bomb of a character, we know it can go wrong at any time. And Sonny's job is to keep Sal calm inside, when he has other business to deal with outside.
Sonny is indeed the cinematic incarnation of the man who tries to keep everything on control. His memorable interactions with Sgt. Moretti, Charles Durning in a remarkable performance, even highlight the evolution of this character who, from self-confidence and condescending tone becomes more fatherly towards Sonny, as if he was mirroring Sonny's very psychological situation, trying to keep things cool while cops were all targeting the bank and the crowd coming to watch the show. A modern circus show with Al as the biggest star, and the media as the lions coming to devour him. And what a showman that Sonny! One of the greatest performances from Al Pacino who gives to his character a moral and political dimension forever incarnated by the immortal "Attica! Attica!". A general and cheerful Stockholm Syndrome, he wins the people's hearts and ours with one of the most legendary rally cries evoking a lost era where people had the guts to stand for their beliefs. "Dog Day Afternoon" is one of the most-defining films of the 70's, with a rebellious mind, and a heart too
And God, the heart of the film... when you expect, you had all the surprises; the best is to come when we learn why Sonny robbed the bank with the entrance of Leon, his 'wife', portrayed in a nuanced but powerful performance by Chris Sarandon as a woman trapped in a man's body. Yep, the movie is full of strong supporting performances. Chris is so convincing we feel this tender love and complicity that could inspire Sonny the desperate idea to rob a bank to pay for his lover's sex change. A complicity translated by the legendary improvised phone-call scene, which genuinely contrasts with the noisier one with Sonny's official (and talkative) wife.
These are the elements that placed Sonny Wortzik among the most fascinating characters of cinema's history and made Pacino a legend, with a character who couldn't have been more different than the icy and cold-blooded Michael Corleone. The story provides him a human touch, he's got a life, a wife, a lover, and he lives and leaves them with such intensity we lose the control of the film. We were laughing, now we feeling Sonny's pain as he's dealing with this tragicomedy, his loss of control and of the people's sympathy after his homosexuality was revealed. Al Pacino's eyes burn with an intensity crystallizing an out of control situation. It's dark, sweaty, we can hardly breathe, and the claustrophobic feeling transcends the bank, even the film.
The film which concludes as it started, in an abrupt, detached and cold way. The police kills Sal and Sonny begs for life. He didn't want to betray Sal, but in a way, he was so alienated by the whole craziness of the situation, he lost the control and didn't even realize how nuts he's gone, like wondering one minute before his arrest if he'll have food in the plane, or believing he was really going to Algeria. The tragic realization that makes you wonder how this happened, and Pacino's eyes look like he's telling himself, "how could I have ever thought I had a chance"...
... sanity was back again, the show was over and the movie could conclude.