Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

IMDb plot summary: A man robs a bank to pay for his lover's operation; it turns into a hostage situation and a media circus.
Directed by Sidney Lumet. Starring Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, and James Broderick.

(Very mild spoilers.)

This is a tight film, and a good one. Al Pacino especially is amazing as Sonny, carrying the nervous energy of the entire movie on his shoulders. Watching the dynamic of all the people involved was extremely interesting; even if we didn't really get to know most of them like we did Sonny, we still got the sense of how they all related to the situation and played off each other. My one complaint would be that I found the ending unsatisfying. Now, maybe it would *have* be unsatisfying, because I think no matter what happened at the end of the movie, it would feel anticlimactic after the 2 hours before it, so I certainly don't have any solutions, but the ending seemed so predictable that it was a bit of a letdown for me. Most crime movies feel the same to me, and up until the ending this one felt different and unique. I only wish that I'd felt the same way of the film's final moments. That won't keep me from rating it pretty highly, however.

3.5 stars.

How it entered Flickchart:
Dog Day Afternoon > Punch-Drunk Love
Dog Day Afternoon < Eat Pray Love
Dog Day Afternoon > Strictly Ballroom
Dog Day Afternoon > The Green Mile
Dog Day Afternoon > sex, lies, and videotape
Dog Day Afternoon > Don't Drink the Water
Dog Day Afternoon < They Came Together
Dog Day Afternoon < Watchmen
Dog Day Afternoon < The Scarlet Pimpernel
Dog Day Afternoon > Monsoon Wedding
Dog Day Afternoon > Au Revoir Les Enfants
Final spot: #636 out of 2412.