Dog Day Afternoon

Directed by Sidney Lumet, Dog Day Afternoon follows Al Pacino’s Sonny Wortzik as he and his partner (John Cazale’s Sal) attempt to survive their misbegotten efforts at robbing a New York City bank. Filmmaker Lumet, armed with Frank Pierson’s screenplay, delivers a mostly engrossing drama that benefits from Pacino’s commanding, hypnotic performance, as the actor offers up a tour-de-force turn that remains an ongoing (and spellbinding) highlight within the proceedings. (There is, for example, a lengthy sequence wherein Sonny speaks to a loved on one the telephone that is, as a result of Pacino’s first-class work, far more electrifying and enthralling than one might’ve anticipated.) There’s little doubt, as well, that the picture’s compelling atmosphere is enhanced by Lumet’s low-key, matter-of-fact directorial sensibilities and an irresistibly agreeable roster of top-notch periphery players, and although the 125 minute running time admittedly does result in a very small handful of lulls, Dog Day Afternoon builds towards a tense, completely captivating final stretch that ensures it concludes on a memorable (and thoroughly satisfying) note – with the movie’s continuing emphasis on Pacino’s well-developed figure, ultimately, cementing its place as an often gripping character study.

***1/2 out of ****