Alpha Dog
Emotionally heartwrenching and devastating
by Larry Richman

I attended the World Premiere of "Alpha Dog" at the Sundance Film festival. I'm not really about writing traditional reviews since I certainly don't want to spoil it. I'm trying to think of what to say and how to say it. Someone said, "The film was amazing, heartwrenching towards the end, and very very well done," I agree with that 100%. Especially the heartwrenching description.

I'll say this now and discuss a bit more later. Nothing, NOTHING prepares you for the climax of the film. And what's absolutely amazing is that we already know going in how it ends. Can you imagine what an amazing feat of filmmaking that is? To make a movie, where everyone (well, most people who read about it) KNOW the ending going in, and yet walk away feeling so emotionally devastated and drained that it's hard to talk about afterwards? I have tears in my eyes as I am writing this.

I was blown away. Absolutely blown away. Even knowing all that I knew, the story, the actors, the characters, even knowing all that, the emotional wave that takes over and propels the film through its last act is just beyond any words. I can truly say that I will remember the ending of this film for the rest of my life.

Throw away everything you THINK this film is about. Because it is not. I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen to me emotionally and I was absolutely devastated. This film MUST be seen.

=======================================

About the ensemble cast:

I'll tell you right now that I was not expecting this film to turn out the way it did. I don't want to give too much away, but director Nick Cassavetes has described it as an ensemble cast, and I agree somewhat. Nobody is really "the star" of the film.

If we break it down into 3 acts, here is how I would describe it, if I absolutely had to answer that question.

ACT 1: Emile Hirsch -- the story centers around him, to some extent. He "maybe" has the most lines and screentime but don't hold me to that.

ACT 2: Justin Timberlake -- the story moves to his character, I believe. I was actually surprised at how his role begins to grow as Emile's "diminishes." Although remember, these are just very rough opinions on my part.

ACT 3: And THIS was the big surprise for me -- Anton Yelchin. At one point I actually heard myself saying in my head that he is the star of this movie, if there is one.

The story is not about Emile's character. It's not about Justin's character. It is about Anton's character. That was the biggest surprise for me and I was not prepared for how emotional the film would get towards the end.

I would also like to say that Ben Foster's performance was for me the biggest surprise, from the point of view of what I knew of him and what I was expecting. So he can also be called a "star" of the film.

Those 4 above, Emile, Justin, Anton, and Ben really are the heart of the film, in my opinion. And, as Nick himself said, Anton is "the heart and soul of the film."

==================================

More about Justin:

I would say that of all the above the one character arc that surprised me the most was Justin's. The other 3 pretty much stick to their basic roles, in terms of what you begin to expect. Not Justin's. And here is one specific instance where I don't want to post spoilers. I will say that I was not overwhelmingly impressed with his character for awhile, although it wouldn't be fair to say that about his "acting" since he is based on a real person, so he is limited in what he can do to portray this person. But a change takes place which cuts to the emotion of what this movie is all about. I was emotionally drained and blown away by the climax of the film, as I had posted elsewhere, and Justin's performance is a big part of that.

So this is the bottom line: not only can he act, but his performance had the power to help turn this film around for me. It was Justin, along with Anton, who grabbed me and drew me in and left me speechless.

I sure do hope people see this film. And I sure do hope they keep an open mind about whatever preconceived notions they may have about the actors or the story itself.

====================================

More about Emile:

One thing about Emile's performance, which is very interesting because of his last role as Jay Adams (in Lords of Dogtown), is that he is again portraying a real person. So he is somewhat limited by what he can do. Having the notes and recollections of friends and family, he had to work off a very specific range of emotions and behaviors. So he can only "act" to the extent that he is portraying the person.

So to that extent, in terms of capturing who the real Jesse James Hollywood is/was, we can only accept that it was.

He is NOT a very likeable character. In fact, it is easily the most disagreeable character he's ever played. Jay Adams was a choirboy in comparison. This isn't the sweet tender Emile you may know and love. But maybe that speaks more volumes about his acting than anything else, that he can portray such a scumbag and be believeable.

======================================

About the women:

I honestly have to say that the women in this film are essential to the story, but they are somewhat on the periphery of what takes place. They are all terrific actors -- but much as I had posted about Emile elsewhere, they were limited by the fact that they are portraying real people. She did have a nice amount of screentime. It's just that the female characters, for the most part, weren't involved enough in the central story to really be able to "blow anyone away." That's not a dig against them -- it's just the way the real story went. But they all impressed me, to be sure. Every one.

======================================

About Chris Marquette:

Chris was also somewhat limited in his ability to go outside the lines of what the person he was portraying was all about. But he had the good fortune to have a turnabout similar to Justin's. Chris' character starts out somewhat on the outside of the story, but he becomes more involved as the film progresses. Again, I don't want to give anything away. But at one point he takes a turn that was a "whoa" moment for me. His range of acting ability does come out as his character does change, much as Justin's does.

======================================

My biggest fear is that people won't go to see this film because of preconceived notions about what it involves. The other is that they won't stay with it long enough to see the real story develop.

In my opinion, this is not about drug dealers or white suburban kids acting tough or sex or drugs or a gang that lived lives of excessive behavior. This is not an R-rated Afterschool Special on the dangers of spoiled youth running wild. Or a bunch of kids who went bad. Yes, all these elements are there and play a part. But anyone who thinks that's the essence of the story, and doesn't give it a chance, will miss out on what I believe is one of the most moving and powerful sequences ever captured on film.

=========================================

The tag line is quite appropriate as well, "One crime. 3 Days. 38 Witnesses." The movie timeline essentially follows the tag line. After seeing the film, although there may be better tag lines, as tag lines go this one's not bad.

As far as the title, someone said that it is about Emile's character and Ben's character fighting to be the "Alpha Dog." There is another way to look at it as well. The "Alpha Dog" can also be considered the lead dog in a pack. All the other dogs will follow that dog and submit to him. They will even follow him into danger, or do things which they would otherwise not do, just because he is "in charge."

Just a warning...it is very hard to watch in parts.

1) The language -- is about the worst I've ever seen in any film. More f-words than you can imagine. At first it seems way too excessive, but you get used to it. Critics have commented on it. But it is a true story, and that is how they talked. Here is what Nick told me:

"I do think the language is an assault on the senses. But on the other hand, I also feel it's representative of the way kids talk these days. The filmmaker is always at the crossroads of accessibility and (his or her) truth. I believe the language gives the viewer a greater sense of these kids and their lifestyles, so it is an important element in telling the story. And to make the film more palatable for the parents to watch was opposite of what I was trying to acheive."

2) The violence -- there is quite a bit of fighting and destruction of property. However, there is very little gun violence or use of weapons compared to many many other films. But there is violence.

Again, not only was it intentional, but it is a true story and he did not want to "edit" it for commercial appeal.

3) The drugs and alcohol -- for a good part of the film, it seems that all they do is get wasted. There is no drug other than pot, though, unlike many other films. Nothing harder than marijuana. Again, at first it seems like too much. But again, it is a true story and he wanted to tell it the way it was.

4) Sex and nudity -- there is some. But it's not gratuitous and there is a lot less of it than in many films I've seen. But once again, it is all true and he did not want to change it for dramatic purposes, either more or less.

It has also been criticized for its slow pacing. But again, it's intentional.

Here is some of what director Nick Cassavetes told me:

"I'll say it myself - some people are going to hate this movie. Some will dismiss it. It's not "Titanic". But some, I feel will appreciate it. I don't think, in good conscience, you can tell a polite, politically correct version of this story. So why not let it all hang out and let the chips fall where they may?"

The bottom line is this: the first act of the film sets the scene for what these guys lives were like. The language, the violence, the drugs, the sex, they were all a part of their lifestyle and it is not sugarcoated.

But more importantly, it is an assault on the senses because without it, the rest of the film -- and the emotional impact it has -- wouldn't be as believeable. You have to experience how sick these guys' behavior was on a daily basis to appreciate and understand how sick were the actions they take later in the film. And it's the actions that they take later in the film that are at the heart of what the movie is about.

The first half of the film is hard to sit through. But the second half makes it all worth it. You cannot get the goosebumps and feel the emotions and the heartbreak of their crime without knowing how depraved these guys were.

It is a film with one of those moments -- about halfway through the film, just when you think you know what it's about, just when maybe you're starting to wonder if it's really going to be worth watching, that feeling begins to come over you. That feeling that says, "ohhh wait a minute. NOW I see what's going on here." Then the tears start to well up as you begin to realize what this is really all about.

Once the real story starts to unfold, you forget about the language and the violence and the drugs and the sex. Because now you have now entered their world, and the emotional impact of what comes later is just heartwrenching.