Today’s quick review: Dog Day Afternoon. One summer afternoon in 1972, a pair of amateur bank robbers attempt to hold up a Brooklyn bank. But their robbery turns into a hostage crisis when the police show up. Sonny (Al Pacino), the brains of the operation, is forced to keep the precarious situation from deteriorating. To stay alive, he must negotiate with the police, take care of the hostages, talk to the media, handle the crowd, and keep his quiet partner-in-crime Sal (John Cazale) from despairing.
Dog Day Afternoon is a crime movie that is based on a true story. What distinguishes Dog Day Afternoon from other hostage films is its realistic, slightly comedic take on a bank robbery. Unlike most fictional bank robbers, Sonny and Sal do not have a plan. They are unprepared for the arrival of the police, and only a combination of luck and quick thinking keeps the situation from falling apart immediately.
But neither are Sonny and Sal the caricatures one would expect in a crime comedy. Their humor comes from their humanity, from their casual relationship with their hostages to Sonny’s impromptu rabble-rousing when he finds the crowd of spectators taking his side. The police are somewhat comedic themselves, bumbling authority figures with an undercurrent of menace. These elements of comedy give Dog Day Afternoon a lighter tone than most standoffs, even if the core plot of the film is a drama.
Sonny himself is a surprisingly compelling character. Al Pacino is given the better part of two hours to develop Sonny from an amateur crook in over his head into a nuanced, likable individual. Pacino accomplishes the difficult feat of playing a likable criminal who is neither a suave mastermind nor pure comic relief. For all his faults, Sonny seems like a nice enough guy, and he gives the movie a strong heart.
Watch Dog Day Afternoon if you are in the mood for an unconventional crime drama with traces of humor. The plot offers nothing special, but the acting is very good, the writing is sound, and the tone is a blend of comedy, drama, and realism that is hard to come by in other films. Skip it if you are looking for an exciting heist, a taut thriller, or a pure comedy.
8.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for strong writing, good characters, an unusual tone, and a great performance from Pacino.