The times have changed. Today American television tries to exploit each and every “saucy” event from the headlines in order to produce a couple of uninspiring and formulaic TV movies or mini‑series. But in the good old days, saying “life is stranger than fiction” had some value in screenwriters’ minds. At least this is the impression you might get from a real‑life event that inspired Dog Day Afternoon, the 1975 drama directed by Sidney Lumet, probably one of the most legendary films in the history of American cinema.
The plot begins in August 1972 when a group of three men, led by Sonny Wortzik (played by Al Pacino), enters the First Savings Bank in Brooklyn in order to rob it. Sonny used to work in a bank and he is supposed to know all the tricks of the trade, making the whole operation routine. But things go bad from the start, when one of the robbers simply chickens out and runs, thus leaving Sonny with his silent and dim‑witted partner Sal (played by John Cazale) to finish the job. It turns out that the bank vault is mostly empty, but this is not the last unpleasant surprise for Sonny. Before he is able to get out, the bank is surrounded by hundreds of policemen led by Lt. Moretti (played by Charles Durning). Sonny decides to get out of this situation by taking the bank personnel as hostages and demanding a plane that would take him and Sal out of the country. But before the FBI arrives and takes over the negotiations, the situation gets out of control—the policemen around the bank are joined by thousands of onlookers and the media soon starts reporting some embarrassing details about Sonny’s private life and the truly bizarre motive for his desperate act.
Dog Day Afternoon has many trademarks of the 1970s, an era that is often referred to as the Golden Age of American cinema. First of all, the main role is played by Al Pacino in his prime, while the supporting role is played by John Cazale, a character actor who appeared in a few movies but nevertheless managed to leave a lasting impression on future generations of film buffs. The film is directed by Sidney Lumet in his prime, and his style gives the impression of a time when filmmakers dared to employ techniques that would look unacceptably “artsy” to present‑day Hollywood. The movie lacks a musical soundtrack, almost the entire plot takes place in a single location and the genre shifts from comedy at the beginning to serious drama at the end.
Despite all of that, Dog Day Afternoon works and it could be enjoyed even by an audience unfamiliar with 1970s cinema. Sidney Lumet, same as in his 1957 masterpiece 12 Angry Men, shows how he could overcome the limitations of the plot with excellent casting and flawless direction. The real‑life perpetrators of the robbery could hardly be anything other than pathetic losers, but Pacino and Cazale bring a lot of humanity to their portrayals and make the audience sympathise with them, despite the obvious lunacy of their actions. Lumet shows great talent for pacing that gives a “real‑time” feeling to Dog Day Afternoon while making the film six times shorter than the real event. The audience is never bored, thanks to the good script by Frank Pierson that compensates for the lack of action with good dialogue. The legendary performances by Pacino and Cazale are well matched by those of Charles Durning and Chris Sarandon, but even the bit parts are good. Sully Boyar is more than fine as the duty‑bound bank manager Mulvaney, same as the various actresses who are very convincing in displaying symptoms of “Stockholm Syndrome”. The most effective bit parts, however, belong to the actors playing FBI agents. Lance Henriksen is truly menacing in one of his earliest roles, and the exchange between Pacino’s character and Sheldon, the FBI agent in charge played by James Broderick, is simply chilling.
Perhaps the only major flaw of the film might be found in its date. Dog Day Afternoon, based on a true event, is a film that can best be understood only in the context of the times when it was produced. The early 1970s, although less stormy than the late 1960s, still represented an era of great social change in America, with anti‑establishment behaviour being fashionable among large segments of society. Even the most pathetic criminals were able to arouse popular sympathy with a couple of simple slogans, like “Attica”, Sonny’s chant that brought back very fresh memories of the 1971 prison riot that had ended with the massacre of inmates. And for the homosexual community, which had recently won the right to formally exist, Sonny became a hero simply because of the motive for his totally insane and self‑destructive action. In our “politically correct” times, when former outcasts and minorities have become part of the social mainstream, Dog Day Afternoon can’t be as effective as it was almost three decades ago. But despite that, it is a very good film that could still be viewed and enjoyed by later generations.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on January 9th 2002)
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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/968-dog-day-afternoon?language=en-US
Critic: AAA
