While this is arguably Al Pacino‘s film — he’s nuanced 1970s Pacino here, not latter-day Pacino playing Pacino — John Cazale‘s contributions to the film can’t be overstated. Playing off-kilter bank robbers in this 1975 true crime story from Sidney Lumet, each actor is at the top of his game in a movie filled to the brim with rock-solid performances. Cazale, however, fills in all the little gaps around the other players to make every scene feel genuinely desperate; a mumbling syllable here, a simple widening of the eyes there. Pacino’s character becomes increasingly unraveled and unkempt, while Cazale’s man remains (burgundy) suited up to the bitter end.

The armed bank robbery at the story’s center kicks off with one cohort immediately asking out before a security guard has an asthma attack and the mastermind, Sonny (Pacino) discovers there’s no money left in the vault, but this film is far from slapstick. Instead, it’s ineptitude combining with unforeseen circumstance to compound a series of bad decisions. There’s bumbling on both sides as Charles Durning‘s cop, Moretti, tries to negotiate with the anxious Sonny while keeping a sea of trigger-happy boys in blue on a tight leash. Somewhere along the way, Lumet takes playful jabs at the celebrity status foisted upon criminals by mass media, but the amazing performances are the real highlight here. These are two of the finest actors of their generation gnashing and clawing their way through one of the best films of the last golden age of American filmmaking.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) Dir. Sidney Lumet, 125 minutes
Thursday 8/21 (7:00PM)

Coolidge Corner Theatre
290 Harvard Street
Brookline MA 02446