Review of Dog Day Afternoon (1975) by Cameron J — 14 Jul 2012

"I'm bound to be proposing on a saturday night and lazing on a dog day afternoon!" It seemed appropriate, seeing as how Freddie Mercury was gay and Al Pacino is playing gay in this film (He's playing bi, but hey, close enough), and quite frankly, back in the '70s, he had the pretty boy look to pull it off, yet nowadays he's looking too rough for it, though I think that can be said about almost all older straight actors (Chris Plummer was believable in "Beginners", because he had been holding on to that free pass at being believable as gay since he did "The Sound of Music"). I say "almost", because Matthew Broderick could live to be 164, and he'll still have enough of a pretty boy look to pull off the gay role, and it helps that he also got a free pass at being believable as gay for marrying Sarah Jessica Parker. I mention Broderick because his father James is in this film, and if he were here today, I bet he'd probably thank me for reminding everyone of his son, because were it not for his kid being so famous, then people would remember him about as well as they do everyone else in this cast who's not Al Pacino. It's pretty amazing how most everyone in the supporting cast never really took off after this film, and that the only guy who probably stood the biggest chance at hitting big time, John Cazale, didn't work but six years before he died (He was dating Meryl Streep back when she was reasonably pretty, so I don't think that he died all that dissatisfied with his career). Every dog may have its day, but these poor non-Pacino dogs never seemed to find those golden years, and that's a shame, because most every actor in this film is delivering a performance more memorable than, well, they themselves. Still, as good as the performers are, they can't fully drown out the sting of this film's faults, of which, there are more than a few.

I timed almost two steadily paced minutes of a montage of nothing but people hanging out on a nice summer day before the opening credits even rolled, and while that extended period of nothingness was saved greatly by Elton John's "Amoreena", it should still tell you that Sidney Lumet, by this time, still wasn't afraid to play things loose and, well, anything but fast. Actually, allow me to take that statement back, because not much can prepare you for how loose this film ends up being, because this is a heist film that studies all but exclusively upon the heist in progress and runs a fair bit past the two hour mark, and if you're wondering what it would be like for that to work without excessive padding, then brother, keep dreaming, because Lumet couldn't even make a biographical picture on Frank Serpico without it being mostly dragging. Well, sure enough, while there is still a surprising amount of dynamicity within the story, the film remains bloated excessively, whether it be through overdrawn scenes of total nothingness or many needless plot points that pad things out to no end. Again, the story has a surprising amount of dynamicity to it, but here and there, certain aspects that supplement the film's dynamicity find themselves inorganically incorporated, if not all-out crowbarred into the story, thus rendering it sometimes forcibly dynamic in a sometimes unevening fashion that takes steam out of the final product, something that I suppose I would feel better about were it not for the fact that the film, on top of being overdrawn, doesn't compensate with consistent thrills, but rather, consistent dryness. The film doesn't provide enough punch in its over two hours of limited eventfulness and limited dynamicity, or at least limited dynamicity that's not forced. The film is, in fact, not as bloated as something like "Serpico", yet the fact of the matter is that it remains bloated, nevertheless, and with subject matter that is, for all accounts, let engrossing than that of the extremely underwhelming "Serpico", this film should, for all extents purposes, fall as about as underwhelming as the previous collaborative by Lumet and Pacino. However, what it ends up becoming a film that's not simply considerably superor than "Serpico", but genuinely good by its own right, because for every fault, this is a needed and unexpectedly sharp move that has enough kick to it to ultimately raise this film as a rewarding final product, or if nothing else, a provocative analysis.

Sure, some of the plot extensions may be rather forced, yet more often than not, that dynamicity of the film is organic enough for you to not fall out of it, even with its bloating and slowness, especially since that dynamicity is typically used to smart effect as a supplement to the realism, as this film is nothing if not believable, and in a unique way. In basic concept and certainly in some spots of execution, what we're left facing should be a rather conventional heist film, yet it's the subtle touches that make all the difference, and what this film does that is so unique is its playing with realism to emphasize the many complex aspects that can potentially arise from something as seemingly cut-and-a-dry as a case of cops and robbers. The film studies upon the humanity within the criminals, the flaws within the forces of justice and even the diverse views of the public, and presents them in a very matter-of-fact, believable fashion that makes no attempt at bias, but instead leaves you with provocative material well worth meditating upon. What's further impressive about the film's themes is the fact that the subtext rarely, if ever takes over the film, floating along in the background to ameliorate your investment while the film primarily focuses upon its story, which is quite strong and really brought to life by Sidney Lumet's unexpectedly thoroughly inspired direction, which may be flawed, but plays ever so cleverly with Frank Pierson's fairly strong screenplay to provide consistent charm that keeps you going through all of the slowness, until you finally reach a point of genuine intrigue, if not all-out tension. The film is hardly all that enthralling, being that it remains so slow and bloated, yet it has enough juice in it to keep you engaged through and through, so much so that, after a while, you find yourself simply in enjoyment. Still, this film wouldn't be as effective or engaging as it is without its memorable performances, the most memorable of which being by leading man Al Pacino, who is thoroughly charismatic, as well as compellingly buyable and even rather layered as the very humanly criminal Sonny Wortzik character, who he portrays as competent yet flawed, with an understanding of the broad situation, but still much vulnerability when it comes to the details and other aspects, and watching Pacino effortlessly nail his portrayal of a man who dances around varying degrees of calmness, anxiety and other sensations is an almost engrossing experience that makes him such a strong leading man. Now, with all of my praise, the film remains considerably overlong, rather dull at points and not even all that terribly even in its focus, yet what this film does get right, it nails with enough charm, intrigue and altogether inspiration that makes it borderline entertaining, and certainly rewarding.

At the end of the dog day, don't expect to walk out not exhausted by the film's excessive bloating through trimmable scenes and even cuttable large story aspects that give the film a kind of unevenness in focus and certainly takes a few blows to the steam of the film, and with consistent dryness in the air exacerbating the sting of the slowness, the final product is left a potentially underwhelming one, yet one that ultimately rewards instead, having a variety of neat, unique touches, such as its marrying provocative subtext and strong substance that goes kept alive by consistent charm, momentary intrigue, occasional tension and constant deliverance by the colorful cast, headed by a blazingly charismatic and compellingly convincing Al Pacino, who stands as one of the fair deal of fine strengths that help in making "Dog Day Afternoon" a generally engaging and ultimately rewarding portrait on the possible complexities that could arise behind something as isolated as a bank robbery.

3/5 - Good.