An excellent film

Rating: 10/10 (25 November 2011)

'Dog Day Afternoon' is definitely one of the finest films of the 1970s. It perfectly captures the pessimistic view of America at the time, and succeeds in creating the ultimate anti-hero whom people across America turned to. The film has a very simple storyline. Sonny (Al Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale) attempt to rob a bank, but only manage to get $1100. To make matters worse, the police arrive and the duo are trapped in the bank with 12 hostages. Sidney Lumet had already proved his ability to direct long conversational scenes with his masterpiece '12 Angry Men', but Dog Day Afternoon', as mentioned before, does so in a much more sympathetic manner. The audience feels real sympathy for Sonny, despite his criminal intentions. The character struggles through life as so many Americans did at the time. Sonny is kind hearted, and his inexperience and struggles only earn him more sympathy. Al Pacino portrays Sonny in a very realistic manner, based upon the real life Sonny whose attempted robbery inspired the film. The sympathy and support for Sonny is intensified further when crowds in the film cheer him on, and the issue of homosexuality was raised, being a controversial topic. These make 'Dog Day Afternoon' an almost unbearably realistic film, and this only enhances the quality of its direction. The mixed pace of the film, sometimes fast and sometimes slow only intensifies the confusion experienced by Sonny, and again intensifies the sympathy toward him. The film is intense, and this is a result of the pace as the audience feels the anger and frustration that the characters do, unaware of what will happen. This is a very successful feature of the film. However, this does remove the ability to revisit the film regularly as the impact is not the same the second time around. Nevertheless, I consider 'Dog Day Afternoon' to be one of Pacino's best films, and also John Cazale's second best performance. The chemistry between Pacino and Cazale (real life friends) is clearly visible on screen and adds massively to the film's emotion, especially at the end. Had the film not been up against 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' for the Best Picture Oscar in 1976, I am sure that 'Dog Day Afternoon' would have won. This is a must see film guys, and definitely as fiercely relevant now as it was in 1975 in my opinion!