Dog Day Afternoon

I've seen Sidney Lumet tackle different genres, from mystery (Murder on the Orient Express) to courtroom drama (12 Angry Men, The Verdict) to satire (Network). Now onto crime with Dog Day Afternoon.

Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale) have intentions on robbing a bank to get money for a sex-change operation for Sonny's lover Leon (Chris Sarandon). Unfortunately, the attempted robbery is a failure from the start.

Only Lumet can cram so much realism into one movie (yes, I know it's based on real events). Pacino is at the height of his career with Dog Day Afternoon and delivers one of his best roles. The interesting thing about the movie is that a majority of the dialogue is ad-libbed; the irony is the screenplay won an Oscar. Much like Lumet's earlier work Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon is gritty, real and edgy.

My Rating: *****