January 15, 2007
Alpha Dog
Effective portrayal of troubled youth
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Ben Foster
Rating: 6/10
Directed By: Nick Cassavetes
Runtime: 122 minutes
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Ben Foster
Rating: 6/10
Directed By: Nick Cassavetes
Runtime: 122 minutes
There are few cinematic themes as powerful and disturbing as that of disaffected youth especially when handled with blunt honesty. The 80's gave us disturbing fair like Penelope Spheeris's Suburbia and Tim Hunter's River's Edge while the 90's provided us with one of the most controversial films of the genre, Larry Clark's Kids, and in 2001 Clark gave us one of the finest examples of the genre in his movie Bully. Alpha Dog attempts to navigate the same cinematic ground as these previously mentioned films but, unlike those films, the youth feel more like types then actual people.
Based on a true story, Alpha Dog follows the exploits of a young drug dealer named Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) and his group of friends and hangers on. When one of Truelove's "employees" refuses to pay him the money he is owed, Truelove and his gang proceed to involve themselves in a botched kidnapping and, eventually, murder.
The film clocks in at over 2 hours and one gets the feeling that it could have been a much better film had it sliced off at least 15-20 minutes of unnecessary exposition. There are numerous scenes that prove unenlightening and help only to slow down the preceding. In addition, the film employs a narrative device that intercuts modern day interviews with the events as they unfold. Unfortunately, the device is ineffective and distracting with one particular segment (an interview with the murdered child's mother played by Sharon Stone) proving laughably inept.
Although the film has a great deal working against it, it still warrants a watch due to some surprisingly effective performances. Ben Foster is quickly shaping up to be one of his generation's more fascinating actors and his work here as the psychotic brother of the murdered youth is a study in calculated overacting. His over the top performance is as exciting to watch as anything by Nick Cage in his wacky and weird earlier performances. The real revelation, though, proves to be Justin Timberlake as Truelove's right hand man and the moral center of a decidedly amoral film. He is charming, funny, and ultimately tragic and proves that there might be life in Hollywood for a former boy band member, so hang in there Nick Lachey.
Based on a true story, Alpha Dog follows the exploits of a young drug dealer named Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) and his group of friends and hangers on. When one of Truelove's "employees" refuses to pay him the money he is owed, Truelove and his gang proceed to involve themselves in a botched kidnapping and, eventually, murder.
The film clocks in at over 2 hours and one gets the feeling that it could have been a much better film had it sliced off at least 15-20 minutes of unnecessary exposition. There are numerous scenes that prove unenlightening and help only to slow down the preceding. In addition, the film employs a narrative device that intercuts modern day interviews with the events as they unfold. Unfortunately, the device is ineffective and distracting with one particular segment (an interview with the murdered child's mother played by Sharon Stone) proving laughably inept.
Although the film has a great deal working against it, it still warrants a watch due to some surprisingly effective performances. Ben Foster is quickly shaping up to be one of his generation's more fascinating actors and his work here as the psychotic brother of the murdered youth is a study in calculated overacting. His over the top performance is as exciting to watch as anything by Nick Cage in his wacky and weird earlier performances. The real revelation, though, proves to be Justin Timberlake as Truelove's right hand man and the moral center of a decidedly amoral film. He is charming, funny, and ultimately tragic and proves that there might be life in Hollywood for a former boy band member, so hang in there Nick Lachey.