(Originally written December 1, 2006)

Dog Day Afternoon is a film about the oppressed peoples pressured under the escalation resulting from the overreaction of authority. Sonny, played by Al Pacino, is the oppressed protagonist—pathetic, likable, intense, heartbroken, jealous, and perhaps the most stressed-out character to ever appear on the silver screen. It’s a wonder to see how he covers such a large spectrum of emotions without the performance ever feeling forced. Premiere Magazine expressed the intensity of Pacino’s performance when writing: “The performance is so raw that you wish someone would tell him it’s just a movie.” Pacino pours his heart out into this performance, fully developing his complex character in perhaps the greatest acting performance in the history of film.

However, this is more than just a movie, an important statement of the times. This represents the 1970s America in which a black man is instantly attacked under the assumption he’s a criminal, policemen chuckle at homosexuals, and the media exploits human beings for the sake of entertainment. The most saddening part of this is that all of these injustices and prejudices still exist in the world today. Nothing has changed in the past thirty years. Although these flaws are revealed, each of the characters is shown to be human, neither inherently good nor evil. These are simply different characters caught within the self-perpetuating prejudices of our society.

The movie is interesting because it never uses music, one of the easiest forms of manipulation in cinema. Sidney Lumet does not have the same eye for visuals as the likes of Martin Scorsese, but he does have a natural talent to develop a story. The audience cares the characters because we’re the movie spends valuable time with them. Lumet’s pacing is also very careful, creating the feeling a hot afternoon where tensions unnecessarily rise to epic proportions. This films looks at the easily-manipulated masses, the overreaction of police, the oppression of homosexuals, and the personal life of a criminal. This is a tragedy in which Pacino sees his life crumble before him. It’s a film that examines different social issues while looking at how these problems directly affect individuals.