Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
WARNING! This review contains spoilers
Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning; d. Sidney Lumet; A+

I know basically nothing about the real-life event that inspired the great Dog Day Afternoon, but something tells me that I don't need to know everything that happened on that day in 1972 to enjoy this movie, and frankly neither do you. So maybe the events in this movie may seem too wild to be true, but believe me there is nothing fake or sensationalized in this film. Dog Day Afternoon is a realistic crime drama/comedy masterpeice that will no doubt strike a cord to anyone who watches it.

Al Pacino stars as Sonny Wortzik, a hyperactive ball of nerves who is the unofficial leader of the bank heist in question. John Cazale (who co-stared in two movies staring Al Pacino as the leader of crime, The Godfather and The Godfather Part II) is Sonny's partner in crime Sal, who, like Sonny, is an ex-Marine/Vietnam vet, who, as you will find out, is the perfect foil for Sonny. At the start of the movie, the pair, as well as another partner, a rather young lad named Stevie (Gary Springer), quietly walk into the bank and then slopily start a bank robbery. Stevie, though, gets cold feet and leaves, holding up the bank robbery for a minute or so. Things obviously aren't going well when Sonny disovers that they received a false lead about the bank, and instead of having a fresh stash of cash, the bank has only a few thousand dollars. But the most fatal flaw of the heist comes from Sonny, who, when scraping every last dollar that he can out of the bank's cash registers and traveler's checks, sets an accounting book on fire and places it in a trash can. The fire may be small and insigificant, but a large amount of smoke comes out as a result, grabbing the attention of a bank inspector who just so happens to be standing across the street. Sonny thinks that by getting the bank manager, Mulvaney (Sully Boyar), to tell the inspector that everything is alright, he and Sal can get away clean. Wrong. A few moments later, police officers, civilians, and the media are swarming in droves outside of the bank, and Sonny and Sal are caught in the middle with no way out.

Apparently, the leader of the police operations is detective Moretti (Charles Durning), a level-headed decetive who tries to keep his cool, especially dealing with someone like Sonny. When his character is first introduced, he thinks he can stop the bank heist by getting Sonny outside of the bank to take a look at all of the police force surrounding the bank, and by telling him that he can get off easy if he and Sal just give up now. Sonny, though, does not give up that easily. He may not know how to plan things so that they don't go awry, but he's a great improviser and knows "a lot about a lot of things," and uses his knowledge to spot the police tricks that Moretti is no doubt throwing at him. To make matters worse, the crowd that has gathered outside of the police barricades are no doubt taking a liking to Sonny, who flamboyantly parades himself in front of Moretti, the police, the cameras, and the audience, spewing out defiant, fist-pumping words of protest to the police. In one powerful and memorable scene, Sonny gets the crowd pumped up by telling the police officers who are standing close to the bank door to move back and put their guns down (since he is, after all, without any weapons), and starts chanting "Attica," in reference to the massicare that took place in the prison of the same name (also mentioned earlier in the film when Sonny and Mulvaney are moving desks and chairs to the back of the bank to barricade the back door). The audience gets riled up, and Sonny is now treated almost like a rock star, as the audience cheers him on whenever he pokes his head out of the door, and boos his "opponents," who are, of coures, the police, and even a young man who tackles Sonny when he continues to parade himself outside the bank (this is the boyfriend of one of the hostages, Maria, played by Chu Chu Malave. Maria is played by Amy Levitt). Inside the bank, though, the temperature and tensions are rising as Sal keeps making threats that he's going to start shooting, and employees are getting sick because of the heat. They're also getting hungry, so Sonny requests pizza and beer (but gets soft drinks). In yet another scene of flamboyance, Sonny takes out the "marked" fives to pay for the pizza and soft drinks. The crowd obviously wants the money, so Sonny starts throwing some over the crowd, leaving them wanting more. Then, as Sonny reenters the bank, the pizza boy pats him on the back and then walks off, but not without annoncing that he's "a fucking star." Besides making a request for food, Sonny comes up with the idea that he and Sal can ask for a helecopter to take them to Kennedy airport and a plane to take them out of the country (one of the movie's most memorable lines comes from this idea, as, when Sonny aks Sal if there was any particular country that he wanted to go, Sal replies "Wyoming.").

Even though they're in a hostage situation, it seems that the bank employees and their captors are having a blast indoors. The female employees are all chatting with each other, or calling someone on the phone (or at least the one that isn't connected to the barber shop next door, which has turned into a police headquarters), or watching TV. We even see one of them praticing some military moves with Sonny in good humor. On the other hand, Sal remains as quiet, solemn, and menacing as ever. In one scene, there is a perfect combination of shyness and menacing power as Sal questions one employee's choice in smoking cigarrettes. He says he doesn't smoke because he "doesn't want the cancer," and suggest the woman do the same because her "body is the temple of the Lord." When she replies, "You keep your body pure, but you rob banks!" he gets up, agitated, and leaves the room.

Well, if the circus that is going outside couldn't get anymore worse, things get even wilder. Earlier, Sonny had requested to see his wife. Not too long afterwards we see Sonny's wife, Angie (Susan Peretz), talking as rapidly as a machine gun to two police officers in her home with their two kids. So, you'd expect that this motor mouth and her two kids would be the same people we see hussled out of the police car that squirms its way through the tightly packed crowd. But, it's a shock to see that the "wife" the police brought was a seemingly drugged man named Leon (Chris Sarandon) in hospital patiant garb, who looks like he just got out of bed and faints when he sees Sonny standing outside of the bank. Sonny then runs anxiously back into the bank, expecting for Leon to call him. Meanwhile, Leon is back in the barber shop giving police some very interesting information: That Leon is depressed and attempted suicide, mostly because, as a psychratrist told him that he was "a woman trapped in a man's body," Sonny had been acting violently and irratically, which Leon assumed was because Sonny was concerned about how he would pay for Leon's inevitable sex change operation. So it is assumed that Sonny robbed the bank to get the money for Leon's operation. The media, of course, has a feild day with the information that Sonny is married to a man, completely ignoring the fact that he's also married to Angie, and turns to bank heist into a media freak show. As Sonny, Sal, and the hostages watch the information spill out on TV, all Sonny can do is stand back and look defeated, as his private life is now an open range for the public. Sal is also upset by the news, but not because his friend is now displayed to the public as a freak, but because the TV said there was two homosexuals in the building ("But I'm not a homosexual!" he cries out to Sonny). Eventually, the police are able to get Leon to talk to Sonny, and what proceeds is a very emotional conversation, all of which is listened in on by the police. This is sharply contrsated by the conversation Sonny has with his wife, Angie, aftewards, in which it is apparent to why Sonny has reportedly been so edgey lately. The woman barely lets him get a word in, and continues to whine when Sonny snaps on the phone. The conversation has to end with Sonny hanging up the phone.

Outside, communications has shifted from Moretti to FBI agent Murphy (Lance Henriksen), which Sonny thinks is "good" (he'd been wondering when the FBI would come, anyway). Sonny discovers this when, out of the blue, the power is turned off in the bank and Sonny must go out side to ask (yell) for it to be turned back on. Murphy asks to be let into the bank, just to see if the hostages are OK. They are, but Mulvaney, who suffers from diabetes, must be checked out by a doctor when he falls ill. The audience, like the two officers in charge of communications, have shifted, from liking Sonny to now mocking Sonny because of the news. Whenever he frisks a man, for security precautions, the crowd starts making taunting catcalls. But, some members of the gay community arrive to cheer Sonny on, even though now it seems Sonny has better things to worry about than the audience. The police pull one last trick to get Sonny out of the bank, by sending his mother (Judith Malina) to talk to him. Sonny gets the idea and sends his mother off, telling the police to send her home. As Sonny reenters the bank, Murphy mouths to him that the limo-bus (which has changed from a helecopter since they could not fit one on the premises) is coming in ten minutes. When it does arrive, Sonny, as usual, takes precautionary measures, searching the bus (but half-heartedly, getting the rather star-struck and "ghetto" driver to point a flashlight in the car to see if there's anything hiding), and then switching the driver from the original one (who he slyly discovers is a police officer), to an FBI agent. Sonny then returns to the bank and tells the hostages to get their things together, and they leave huddled together, with the two culprits hidden in the middle. Like he says, Sonny lets one hostage go in extange for the bus. It seems that Sonny is pretty confident that he and Sal are going to get away clean, and even to the hostages, as, when they arrive at the airport and see the jet, they all wish Sonny and Sal luck (Maria, who is allowed to leave in extange for the jet, gives Sal a rosary since its his first trip on a jet). But, Sonny's half-hearted search of the bus turns out to be fatal as the FBI agent opens up a secret gun container in the bus and Murphy takes out a gun and shoots Sal in the head. The hostages, scared, run out of the bus, leaving Sonny with a gun pointed to his head (to which he nerviously responds "Don't shoot me."). The last moments of the film leaves Sonny being arrested, looking tragically at his murdered friend being pushed away on a stretcher into an ambulance.

Dog Day Afternoon is a masterful study of a crime gone wrong, with an excellent cast and excellent direction. The amazing thing is that, in spite of the rather wild events that occured inside the movie, the film remains realistic, non-sensationalized, and documentary-like. The film does not attempt to make this robbery look like a freak show, as the media did. Instead, it focuses steadily on the characters, and the affects that the events have on the characters. What results is a film with several powerful and emotional moments that makes this film worthy of being ranked among the best. The countless memorable scenes in this movie are so well-directed and high with emotion that they really strike a cord with you everytime you watch it. The scene in which Sonny shoot his gun out the back window after discovering that there are police officers in the back is so perfectly edited that you really get the feel of frenzy and shock when a gunshot is heard. This is perfectly contrasted with some of the more quiet scenes, including Sonny's conversation with Leon on the phone as well as the heartbreaking will-writing scene near the end. The scenes with Sonny and Moretti having screaming fits with each other are some of the most eletric scenes ever. What also helps this film greatly in being realistic is the lack of a score and a soundtrack, only a single Elton John song is played over the opening the credits.

The performances of this film are also what makes it so great, especially that coming from the superb Al Pacino. Sonny Wortzik is the caffiene poster child, buzzing around the place like a gnat with an obnoxious voice and a twitch in his eyebrow. Pacino plays his character perfectly and convincingly, pulling off the character's high amount of cockiness, nerviousness, slopiness, and cautiousness. Likewie, the late John Cazale pulls off another great performance as Sonny's polar opposite: The quiet and menacing Sal. While Moretti and Murphy have to put up with the flamboyant cruisades of Sonny upfront, they're nervious about Sal, who remains in the bank like a tiger waiting to pounce on his prey. But even still, Cazale is able to pull off the wimpy Sal, the one who's upset when he's called a homosexual, the one who doesn't want to get the cancer, the one who wants to go to Wyoming instead of Algeria. Charles Durning shines as Moretti, perfectly playing off of Pacino's Sonny in some of the most heated scenes in the movie. Chris Sarandon as Leon is also excellent, he's able to pull of being an feminine man without over doing it to the point of being overtly campy. In fact, there are too many people who give stunning performances in this film. I think it's safe to say that this film has one of the strongest casts in cinema history.

What also struck a cord with me was the fact that the treatment of Sonny by the crowd paralels how an young audience might treat someone today. Sonny get's the crowd's sympathy when he tries to make the connection between his situation and the situation at Attica. Today, Someone could just as easily do the same by bashing the police and connecting themselves with another person like Rodney King, among others, who were brutally beaten or killed by police. The backlash against the police force has been so strong lately that the situation is not impossible. Also, things have not changed much in terms of the general public and homosexuality, so a crowd today is more than likely going to turn against someone like they did Sonny if information spills out that they might be gay. But, the point made about the audience and the media is not new: The audience is fickle, and the media, to quote Hitchcock, plays them like an organ. It was the media who really turned the audience away from Sonny as they decided that he got too popular and thus his ego should be deflated. They were the ones who made him look like a freak, like they did and do to so many celebrities, politicians, etc. While Sonny may be a criminal, what happened to him inregards to the media was unfair. But the media, like its proven so many times, could care less about a person's privacy. When they smell a hot story, they report it, personal or not.

I could not reccomend this film enough. It's one of the best of the 70's, one of the best of all time. This is a flawless film, with excellent everything. If you haven't seen it, see it, I beg of you. Al Pacino fans, John Cazale fans, Sidney Lumet fans, whoever, see it, and see it now!

© Vert A Go Go Reviews 2001