Idyllic family footage melts into a dog-eat-dog teenage criminal underworld in Hollywood, documenting an unfortunate turn of events in the life of Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsh), loosely based on Jesse James, the youngest man to ever grace the list of F.B.I's most wanted. Alpha Dog hedges its story around an unorthodox kidnapping, straying from its template, central characters and indeed point, until it has slotted itself in with the rest of forgettable crime teen romps.
Acting-wise, it is mainly obnoxious teens acting like adults acting like pimps and gangsters, recycling "fuck" in every sentence to instill the authenticity in the way in which things are run. A squeaky-voiced Justin Timberlake incongruously dons tattoos and wife-beaters by the bucketload, while Emile Hirsh gets his Mexican thug on, and Ben Foster shamelessly emulates Edward Norton's performance in American History X, often to surprisingly good ends. You'll know what I'm talking about. Bruce Willis makes an extended cameo, as does Sharon Stone, but blink in the midst of all the teenage party nostalgia (which is bound to happen) and you're likely to miss both appearances. In short, the acting side of the tapestry is nothing to write home about.
Nick Cassavetes makes no genuine attempt to communicate with the audience in Alpha Dog, unlike his earlier film "The Notebook" in which he milked every frame worth its emotional, aesthetic and dramatic appeal. There is plenty of the latter in this film as the testosterone-fuelled teenage gangsters plough through a checklist of almost clichéd scenarios (sex, drugs, drinking, fighting, kidnapping, swearing -- OK, you're criminal, we get it), but these events line up to the cumulative effect of having become routine in Alpha Dog. The script comprises of far too many uninspired, gratuitous "party shots" with no other purpose than to give the audience a feel for the protagonists' lifestyles. For that matter, we are presented with a very documentary-like presentation where Cassavetes just seems to station his camera and record the meanderings of juvenile delinquents.
Having said all of this, rabid fans of the crime genre might still be sporadically entertained, for Alpha Dog features Guy Ritchie undertones -- however pale and marginal -- and there are some quasi-ambitious attempts to insert a "cool MTV" style fit for the X and Y gen, mostly done by mixing and pasting several frames onto one. As another strong suit, its content matter is almost automatically engaging. We love teenagers in trouble -- and we love teenagers having sex, right?
5.5 out of 10
Acting-wise, it is mainly obnoxious teens acting like adults acting like pimps and gangsters, recycling "fuck" in every sentence to instill the authenticity in the way in which things are run. A squeaky-voiced Justin Timberlake incongruously dons tattoos and wife-beaters by the bucketload, while Emile Hirsh gets his Mexican thug on, and Ben Foster shamelessly emulates Edward Norton's performance in American History X, often to surprisingly good ends. You'll know what I'm talking about. Bruce Willis makes an extended cameo, as does Sharon Stone, but blink in the midst of all the teenage party nostalgia (which is bound to happen) and you're likely to miss both appearances. In short, the acting side of the tapestry is nothing to write home about.
Nick Cassavetes makes no genuine attempt to communicate with the audience in Alpha Dog, unlike his earlier film "The Notebook" in which he milked every frame worth its emotional, aesthetic and dramatic appeal. There is plenty of the latter in this film as the testosterone-fuelled teenage gangsters plough through a checklist of almost clichéd scenarios (sex, drugs, drinking, fighting, kidnapping, swearing -- OK, you're criminal, we get it), but these events line up to the cumulative effect of having become routine in Alpha Dog. The script comprises of far too many uninspired, gratuitous "party shots" with no other purpose than to give the audience a feel for the protagonists' lifestyles. For that matter, we are presented with a very documentary-like presentation where Cassavetes just seems to station his camera and record the meanderings of juvenile delinquents.
Having said all of this, rabid fans of the crime genre might still be sporadically entertained, for Alpha Dog features Guy Ritchie undertones -- however pale and marginal -- and there are some quasi-ambitious attempts to insert a "cool MTV" style fit for the X and Y gen, mostly done by mixing and pasting several frames onto one. As another strong suit, its content matter is almost automatically engaging. We love teenagers in trouble -- and we love teenagers having sex, right?
5.5 out of 10