Dog Day Afternoon

Few other directors are as adept as Sidney Lumet at tailoring their style to the unique qualities of a story. Kubrick, Scorsese, Spielberg, the Coens - many of the greatest directors of all time have a style to their films that make them all but unmistakable. Lumet's distinction lies in his ability to adapt to the material. Dog Day Afternoon is a great example of this. Taking into account the fact that he was working with a story based on real events Lumet employed a relatively slow pacing - approximating the feel of real time - and - with the exception of the opening sequence - chose to do without a musical score. Of course, those are just two of several considerations made with the goal of realism in mind.

Despite these commitments to realism Dog Day Afternoon manages to touch on many of the pressing social issues of 1970's America. In fact, it is because of this commitment to realism that the film achieves such a deeply insightful portrait of that time in our history. The characters' lives are faithful manifestations of a society challenged by Vietnam, myriad misuses and abuses of authority, women's lib, and gay rights - to name a few. I never felt as if I was being preached to. No one issue was singled out as the source of conflict.

In my opinion, when it comes to storytelling, the "ends" cannot justify the "means." It just doesn't work that way. The "means" are EVERYTHING. In this respect, Dog Day Afternoon is cinematic storytelling at its best.