Dog Day Afternoon: The humanity of the protagonist
Directed by Sidney Lumet
“I’m robbing a bank because they got money here. That’s why I’m robbing it.”
Sonny Wortzik
It has been said that if you can get the audience to care about the characters, then you have produced a successful movie. It seems that “Dog Day Afternoon,” an American biographical crime drama, patterned the wildly acclaimed film after that maxim. It follows Sonny (Al Pacino) and his friend Sal (John Cazale) who were caught in an unsuccessful bank robbery that was meant to be completed in 10-minutes. The little drive-by ended up lasting for a full 14-hours as our protagonists wound up in a stand-off with law enforcement, the media, and pacifying the hostages. Directed by Sidney Lumet and based off a real-life 1975 robbery, the movie has a stellar cast that uses great subtlety in portraying their characters. Pacino specifically is a master at subtlety and the little quirks he added made Sonny appear real to the audience. Cazale as Sal also garnered much sympathy as he seemed to be a much different disposition from Sonny. It also had a strong start with the comedic relief, and it had seemed funny until it inevitably was not. What I mean by this is, as the film progressed it loses some steam and seems to drag. Though, this may have been a creative choice so that the audience could experience the exhaustion of the whole hostage situation. Providing an in-depth look on the human condition, this film displays a range of emotions provoking empathy for our characters who were not necessarily bad people, but complex humans that make bad decisions. Overall, this film was quite a trip, and I would recommend a re-watch if only to see a masterclass in acting from Al Pacino.
The Island Cinephile 
