Amateur Dogs

Rating: Null/10 (5 October 2006)

A startlingly young Al Pacino stars in this true-life story of a bank robbery gone wrong. The most famous recent film about a botched bank robbery was of course 'Reservoir Dogs', but the two movie could hardly be more different (except for the use of the word 'dog' in their titles!) - Quentin Tarantino's movie was stylised, ultra-violent, and told of gangsters, whereas this movie is realist in tone and features very little shooting, while Pacino's character is essentially just a mixed-up kid. He gives a fine performance, and director Sidney Lumet shows a sure touch in handling the tragi-comic unfolding of events; the longer the movie lasts, the more involving it becomes. If anything, the film better resembles Scorcese's under-appreciated gem, 'The King of Comedy', another story about the pursuit of dreams both modest and absurd. It's among the best things that Lumet and Pacino have done in their long careers, and a welcome reminder that the greater slickness one expects in a modern blockbuster does not necessarily make a better film.