Film Review: Dog Day Afternoon

Director: Sidney Lumet

From the director that brought us the excellent films 12 Angry Men and Network, Sidney Lumet in between made Dog Day Afternoon which has been on my to watch list for too long. Unfortunately Sidney Lumet died just under a year ago but with these 3 films amongst others he has left quite a legacy. The film is actually based on a real bank robbery committed by John Wojtowicz on the Chase Manhattan Bank in Brooklyn.  Wojtowicz actually wrote a letter following the release of the movie to say that ''only 30% was true'' to the actual events but said the portrayals by Pacino and Cazale were accurate.

Sal (John Cazale) and Sonny (Al Pacino)

The film opens with Sal (John Cazale) and Sonny (Al Pacino) calmly walking into the bank as customers then producing guns to rob the place. The initial problem is that the daily cash pickup has already been leaving only $1,100 and then the police are alerted after a small fire when Sonny tries to burn the travellers cheque records. We then enter the familiar gun-men with hostage's situation as the police get the bank surrounded.

The story is about more than just the robbery gone wrong and the hostage situation inside, it echoes back to the early-1970's. Rebellion amongst the public is everywhere and when Sonny is outside talking to detective Moretti (Charles Durning), he realises that crowds are cheering him as he asks all the policemen to put their weapons down. After a while he revels in the public adoration shouting "Attica!" in reference to the recent Attica prison riot at the time and starts throwing money into the street. Suddenly the police have an armed criminal who has become a celebrity in downtown Brooklyn.

Sonny plays up to the crowds with Sylvia the head teller (Penelope Allen)

It also presents the homophobic and racist feelings of the time when later in the film Leon (Chris Sarandon) is brought to the scene as well as the bus driver. But at times it was hard not to feel nostalgic when all the police cars drove and parked up at the beginning with cops in ill-advised suits started getting out. It felt like an episode of a 70's TV cop show but in an authentic way. But withstanding this there are some funny and quirky moments to cut the drama while the hostages are held within the bank.

The hostages do seem to suffer from Stockholm syndrome very quickly in the film and sympathize hugely with their captors, especially in the case of Sylvia the head bank teller. This is a slight criticism but both the gun-men come across as inexperienced and nervous which probably endears them to the hostages. A few moments with the Irish cop negotiating with Sonny are slightly cliché even for the 1970's but overall it's an enthralling movie.

3.5/4 Lumet strikes again while tackling more than just a hostage situation