Dog Day Afternoon

Dog Day Afternoon 11/07/11

Director: Sidney Lumet           Screenplay: Frank Pierson

1975

The opening montage of Dog Day Afternoon shows us a cross section of New York lifestyles of the 1970’s; a juxtaposition of businessmen and the homeless, of haves and have-nots. It is summer in the city, and as the film develops we see this is the perfect time of year for a film that deals with the harsh pressures that a city can put on people. Based closely (as far as films go) on actual events from 1972, this film is a template for many subsequent heist and hostage films, and the actual events helped shape police procedure for hostage negotiation, and knowing that people experienced what the actors pretend to do helps audiences empathise with them.

            Al Pacino as Sonny is the mastermind of a robbery that is painfully amateur right from the beginning when an accomplice realises that he isn’t cut out for a life of crime and has other things to be doing. Not a good sign. But our protagonist struggles on and manages to get into the vault. He does so with the assistance of sensible and mostly calm bank employees, including the head teller who doesn’t let the gun pointed at her head stop her from telling Sonny to watch his language. Moments like this, the use of humour in stressful and dark moment right up until the final moments help offset the intensity of the situation, and also make Pacino and John Cazale’s characters endearing.

            In some unknown but unsurprising way the police are alerted, and there are lots of them. Due to the overwhelming number of armed police a fairly pathetic robbery turns immediately into a super tense hostage situation, despite Sonny treating his hostages pleasantly. I think what really worked for me in this film is that unlike many other such films I have seen I wasn’t focusing on the logistics of the police operation or the felons escape, and I genuinely wanted everybody to come out better off. Because we weren’t seeing through the police point of view, and Pacino’s character was properly developed there was a real story at work. At one point Sonny is asked why he is robbing the bank, and he says for money. That is true, but many heist films would leave it at that, and the hostages would be brutalised and the police would be heroes. However here we know what the police want and why they want it and we support them, but we know there is more to Sonny and he isn’t there to get money for a nice car and an evil volcano base. On top of this is the social context. The crowd surrounding the bank supply this context, almost completely siding with Sonny, and the film also takes place under the shadow of the American-Vietnamese war. These are deep issues which director Sidney Lumet doesn’t push to the foreground but lets them speak for themselves.

At the end of the film I found myself questioning the nature of this support; was it really for Sonny or was it just an excuse to oppose the establishment. I also wondered if such support for a criminal could happen now, considering the harsh economic situations that many have to deal with. However my biggest question was about the hostage-kidnapper relationship. Did those hostages really wish Sonny well or was it just to keep him happy? I know which answers I would like to be correct.