------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall Rating : 6/10
Directed By : Nick Cassavetes
Emile Hirsch (Lords Of Dogtown)
Justin Timberlake (Black Snake Moan)
Shawn Hatosy (The Faculty)
Bruce Willis (Live Free or Die Hard)
Supplied By : Universal Studios
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : May. 1, 2007
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| PLOT Truelove is a wild 18-year-old who deals drugs for a living and hangs out with his posse, who revolve around a core of Frankie, Elvis, and Tiko. When a client of Truelove's, Jake Mazursky, is unable to pay off his crystal-meth debt, the group kidnaps his 15-year-old stepbrother, Zack), who becomes a Patty Hearst-like accomplice in his own abduction. Indeed, Zack positively revels in his new position, and lives it up with the boys at every opportunity he gets. |
||||
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||||
| THE REVIEW ALPHA DOG tells the story of Johnny Truelove. Johnny is a young drug king in Claremont California, and because he is young, he also influences his peers all around him, so much so, that they help him with his deeds and local drug operation. John has many customers come and go but none fail to pay more than Jake Mazursky. When Jake again doesn't have the money for drugs Jake agreed to sell for Truelove, the two engage in a scuffle that leaves glass broken and tension high between the two. As a means to get back at Jake, the next day, when Johnny and company spot his younger half brother Zack walking on the side of the road alone, they decide to ambush the unsuspecting 15 year old and take him hostage. For days Zack would stay with them, at first scared for his life, it's not soon that he starts to gel with his kidnappers and grow accustomed to their partying lifestyle they live. In a bizarre turn of events, just when the one captured begins to grow comfortable, the leader Johnny Truelove grows paranoid, about just what would happen if they were caught... As Johnny senses that time is running out, he contemplates a few decisions, not knowing that the one he would end up choosing would be one that changed everyone's lives. ALPHA DOG is a story that Director Nick Cassavetes based on the real life of Jesse James Hollywood. Everything that appears in this film did happen or closely resemble actual events that occurred, but of course names have been changed for legal reasoning I do assume.. Played out in a half and half pseudo documentary style, in which the film switches from the events as they happened to interviews with people after the fact, the audience is quickly thrown into the world of a young drug tycoon. We are brought into a massive world of partying and drugs and the people participating in it - and right in the center of it all is Johnny Truelove. He has a group of friends that seems to believe that their world revolves around Truelove, and for the first portion of the film, it is demonstrated just how dedicated they are to their "leader" of sorts. Once this is established, the Director pushes the envelope even further when the crew kidnaps Zack. This was a great example of how one person can have mind control over a group of people, as when they found out they could get life in prison for kidnapping with the intent of ransom, even though Frankie Ballenbacher(one of the accomplices, who seems to have a heart) suggests they just take Zack home and end it all, Truelove insists that he be killed, yet somehow due to his stupid loyalty Ballenbacher, agrees to participate(after hesitation) and so does another, Elvis Schmidt. Many people complain that this movie is slow. And yes it is (at times), but in my opinion, film's like these should be, after all this is a real life story here, and time needs to be spent to examine subjects. A film that is much like ALPHA Dog, is Larry Clark's amazing true crime film based on the real life Florida murder of Bobby Kent, titled BULLY. Although the two lifestyles depicted in the respective films are very different, there is a lot was very similar to an extent and very realistic in feeling. One problem I had with ALPHA DOG however is that there are a ton of characters thrown at us, some with no purpose, and often the story seems too bulky, sometimes films combine 2 or more characters in one for the sake of clarity, and if ever a time that was needed it may be here - I had trouble remembering people's names and what-have-you, People also are quick to say, just how could Johnny Truelove and his boys be so dumb? Well the answer is really easy - base them on real people that WERE that dumb! Jesse James Hollywood's accomplices were so brainwashed, they seemingly rarely never thought before doing so yes the logical thing for the character Frankie Ballenbacher to do was to stop the murder, but this is how it actually happened otherwise the true story bit would be clear out the window, so to speak. Overall, I thought it was a great performance by the ensemble cast. The standouts here are clearly Emilie Hirsch who is somewhat believable as Johnny Truelove, Ben Foster whom did extensive research in the drug realm before playing Jake Mazursky - and it shows. I really can't believe i'm saying this but, yes, Justin Timberlake, shows some extreme acting chops in this film, gone are his days of acting out skits in THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB - he steps out here and delivers a solid character. I also have to give credit to Anton who portrays the kidnapped Zack with both honesty and realism, with more projects on the way for him, (one of which he co-stars with Oscar nominee Diane Lane) he looks to have a bright future ahead of him. |
||||
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||||
| GORE
METER 1.5/10 A couple of gunshot wounds and a bottle over one's head is all I recall. |
||||
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||||
| MUSICAL
SCORE 3/10 A bunch of Rock and Hip-Hop tracks fill the background from time to time. |
||||
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||||
| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Overall, I did enjoy ALPHA DOG, it is a rather decent retelling of a true story, that tries to stay factual but occasionally breaks the fictional plane with a few factual discrepancies - but none hinder the overall viewing experience. Although I didn't end up liking this movie as much as I expected to, there is a lot here to like, and could see myself watching it again....I recommend! |
||||
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||||
| STILLS | ||||
|
