Dog Day Afternoon
Back when he was considered one of the most dynamic acting phenomenons of the 1970s, Al Pacino starred in a number of what could be called his “bread and butter roles” (including Serpico and The Godfathers) that resulted in near unheard of critical accolades and a slew of Oscar nominations. This release from 1975 is absolutely thought of as being one of them with Pacino going up for Best Actor (again), but it is also perhaps the most unusual, least conventional performance of his heyday as well. That the film is usually listed as being a drama but also has elements of being a comedy is one of the most obviously dead giveaways of its iconoclastic nature. It was also based on a true story that had occurred in Brooklyn three years prior when two basic losers, John “Sonny” Wojtowicz (who ironically was described in the press as resembling Pacino) and Sal Naturale attempted to rob a bank, only to get stonewalled long enough for the cops to show up and a media circus like few had ever seen (but sadly have seen too many times since) to break loose in a real life situation that was every bit as crazy as anything the movies could ever portray, especially when it was revealed that Wojtowicz was actually a homosexual and was committing the robbery to pay for his gay lover’s (a.k.a. his “wife’s”) sex change operation, with the irony being that when he negotiated and sold the rights to his life story for THIS film (from prison), he indeed did just that and used his movie money to finance the operation before getting out of prison five years later and becoming a minor celebrity in the New York gay underground scene, even doing personal appearances and autograph signings at any number of gay clubs. As for the movie itself, it was tightly directed by the legendary Sidney Lumet (who was known for directing ALL of his movies very tightly) who had offered the lead role to Pacino based on the obvious physical similarities, only to be turned down initially because Pacino was exhausted from just having filmed Godfather 2 and was ready to take a break, but when he learned that Lumet was then making overtures to Dustin Hoffman for starring in it, Pacino quickly changed his mind and signed on for what would be another of his signature performances (not that Pacino hasn’t given landmark performances in every decade of his career, but there are many who express a preference for his younger days simply because of the ferocious rawness of his work at that time). The film sets an excellently evocative mood from the outset for late summer in New York City, utilizing a montage (set to Elton John) to show the place in all of its simple and relaxing squalor. The story begins proper with Pacino’s Sonny Wortzik and his accomplices sitting in a car outside a bank right before walking in for the robbery. Along with Sonny there is a teenage looking kid who winds up wimping out mere minutes into the robbery before running away (and is never seen or mentioned ever again) and of course there is John Cazale as Sal Naturale (having just legendarily played Pacino’s onscreen brother Fredo in The Godfather films). There was a bit of controversy over the casting of Cazale as the real life Sal was only eighteen at the time while Cazale was well into his late thirties, but nonetheless he managed to impress Lumet in an audition to nab the part and give a brilliantly understated performance (which was the polar opposite of his Fredo) as a guy who was perhaps an even bigger misfit than Pacino is here, someone who clearly and quietly carries a massive chip on his shoulder to represent his contempt for society. The early moments of the robbery emphasize much of the comedic aspects of the story, as Pacino (who claims to have a good working knowledge of how banks operate) makes mistake after mistake in securing both the location and the hostages (mostly female tellers and an older male bank manager) as Sal meekly looks on, wondering if his blind allegiance to this guy is really going to be the end of him. Eventually (without explanation) the NYPD has gotten wind of the robbery and has the whole perimeter set up outside with the lead cop being played by Charles Durning in another one of his wonderfully blustery performances. Pacino wants Durning to know that he means business, warning him that he’ll start killing hostages wholesale if his demands are not met, but the truth is that he probably doesn’t really have a killing bone in his whole body, unlike Cazale who reassures him that he’s fully ready, willing and able to kill them all if need be (although again the sincerity is just a little bit in doubt). The majority of the movie keeps the action inside the bank with the hostages, on the sidewalk outside with Pacino and Durning having frequent exchanges, and in the barber shop across the street where Durning and his men have set up shop. Eventually a very large crowd gathers, mostly to cheer on Pacino as some kind of a countercultural hero (“Attica! Attica!”) followed by the television news reporters and cameras to cover every inch of the madness therein which even includes the boyfriend of one of the female hostages attacking and beating up on Pacino during a routine face to face negotiation with Durning. Eventually, Pacino figures out that his only option is to negotiate a escape plan (having netted only a couple thousand from the bank) using the hostages as leverage, but first asks that his wife be brought to the scene. When we see his wife, she appears to be a dumpy, overweight woman with an irritating personality and two kids that she’s had with Pacino, but it turns out that is NOT the wife that he wishes to see, but rather instead his gay lover who not only married him in drag, but did so in a church in 1972! Pulling him to the scene out of Bellevue as requested, we are introduced to Chris Sarandon (in his first role) as Leon Shermer, a suicidal gay man (with a flamboyant hairstyle) who ironically is so disgusted by Pacino’s actions that he refuses to talk to him at first. To say that Sarandon (a guy who later became most famous for playing a hip, sexy vampire) is brilliant in the role and nearly steals the movie is all certainly true even as his exasperated yet played close to the vest portrayal obviously helped inspire the countless other over the top flamboyantly gay characters in the years to come from Hollywood, notwithstanding the fact that he scored a Supporting Actor Oscar Nom here for playing a gay guy who succeeds in drawing major sympathy points from any viewer whether they be gay or straight in a pretty impressive feat. Unfortunately, the revelation that Pacino is gay manages to turn the once supportive crowd aganst him (even as the gay community then turns up to cheer him on) and even Cazale becomes enraged when the media reports that he too is also gay due to his association with Pacino. The film turns considerably darker in the latter stages of the film when Durning is demoted to being just a mere observer and command of the whole operation is taken over by two coldly calculated FBI agents (James Broderick and a young Lance Henriksen) who (unlike Durning’s cop who was mostly pretty straightforward in his dealings) start using little psychological tricks to try to unnerve Pacino and even implies that everything will be alright for him if he just turns over Cazale whom because of his having held the gun on the hostages the whole time is being deemed as the real threat on hand. Meanwhile the hostages themselves have created a breezy, almost relaxed atmosphere inside the bank, having possibly concluded that their captors wouldn’t really hurt them and just making the best of it while they can. Lumet was said to have encouraged a true sense of freedom and improvisation on the set, allowing all of the actors to bring their own bits to the table and indeed, some of the most famous of those bits (including “Attica!”) sprung from that sensibility. Pacino is as wired up here as he’s ever been in his career, reportedly getting little to no sleep during the filming in order to stay on edge the whole time while Cazale gives a more stoic yet intense turn that gets a lot more audience empathy on his side than maybe even he deserves (although unfairly being labeled as a “loose cannon” by the authorities outside helps him in that regard). Overall, a wild and crazy dramatic piece that remains at or near the top for many people as one of the greatest classics of the 1970s…
8/10