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Directed by : Nick
Cassavetes
Writing credits (WGA) : Nick
Cassavetes (written by)
Tagline : Inspired by true events
Cast : Bruce Willis as Sonny
Truelove , Matthew Barry as Interviewer
, Emile Hirsch as Johnny Truelove ,
Fernando Vargas as Tiko "TKO" Martinez ,
Vincent Kartheiser as Pick Giamo ,
Justin Timberlake as Frankie
Ballenbacher
Runtime : USA:117 min (Sundance
Film Festival)
 Review
: It goes without saying that it's
dangerous for a lamb to spend time in
the den of wolves, but when that lamb
lingers longer than is necessary, the
result is guaranteed. Alpha Dog, the
2006 Sundance Closing Night film whose
resemblance to a real-life case
engendered a lawsuit, is about such a
situation. It illustrates that not all
master criminals are masterminds and
that not all "nerds gone wild" stories
have happy endings. Director Nick
Cassavetes should be commended for the
unflinching manner in which he tells the
story - it packs a punch, although it
lingers too long to be truly unsettling.
There's an art to figuring out when to
end a movie and, at least on this
occasion, it eludes the filmmakers.
Alpha Dog transpires in the late 1990s
and focuses on drug dealer Johnny
Truelove (Emile Hirsch) and his posse,
which includes jokester Frankie
Ballenbacher (Justin Timberlake) and
gofer Elvis Schmidt (Shaun Hatosy). When
Johnny has a falling-out with one of his
customers, Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster),
who owes him money, all hell breaks
loose. The escalating conflict results
in a prisoner being taken: Jake's naïve
younger brother, Zack (Anton Yelchin),
who's the lamb to Johnny's wolves.
Although Zack is initially kidnapped, he
adapts to his captivity, playing video
games with members of Johnny's crew,
drinking and doing dope, and flirting
with girls. It's paradise for this
sheltered lad, and he doesn't want to go
back to being Mommy and Daddy's Perfect
Boy. However, life lessons for Zack
aren't foremost on Johnny's mind. He's
trying to figure out the best way to
stay out of prison or end up in a body
bag, and that may require Zack to be in
a position where he can never testify.
 It's
interesting to watch a movie in which
the criminals are incompetent wimps.
Most of the time, bad guys in films like
this are equal parts geniuses and thugs.
Johnny plays at being a sophisticated
badass, but when it comes down to it,
he's a fraud. He's not smart and he's
intimidated by guns. There are several
times when he has a chance to pull the
trigger but doesn't - it isn't a case of
him using restraint; he's plain scared.
Johnny's playing the role of the
gangster until one of many unintelligent
decisions puts him in a situation in
which the real-world consequences are
severe. Suddenly, the games are over.
Most of the characters are reprehensible
- not the kinds of people the average
viewer would feel comfortable spending
two hours alongside. Then there's Zack.
He's a good kid whose situation is not
of his own making. He happens to have a
nutso brother and he pays the price for
the misfortune of having the same father
as Jake. Zack's story unfolds in a way
that recalls Almost Famous - the
innocent thrown into a world of
depravity where he finds temporary
bliss. In Almost Famous, the Magical
Mystery Tour eventually ends with a cold
does of reality; that reality couldn't
be any colder than the one in Alpha
Dog's final act.
The movie bypasses the perfect ending
point - a stirring mock-interview with
Sharon Stone as Zack's mother - in order
to spend 15 extra minutes with Johnny
and his cohorts. Although this part of
the movie offers the most explicit
nudity in the film (from a sexy Olivia
Wilde), it feels extraneous and
tacked-on. While Alpha Dog may start out
being about Johnny, he quickly becomes
secondary to Zack and Zack's developing
friendship with Frankie, who has been
named as the kid's "handler."
 As
Zack, Anton Yelchin develops a sweet,
baby-faced character in which bookworms
everywhere will recognize a kindred
spirit. Zack is every high school
student who spent more time studying
than socializing. He's the Catholic
schoolgirl who goes wild when the
restraints are removed. It's an
effective performance, right to the end.
Also strong, perhaps surprisingly, is
Justin Timberlake as Frankie. It doesn't
take long for the singer to shed his
reputation and do some real acting.
Frankie is a tragic figure - a boy who's
in way over his head and ends up frozen
in a state of moral paralysis because he
fails to see the one clear way out of
what he believes to be an inescapable
trap. Ben Foster's Jake has it cranked
up to "11"; he's channeling Dennis
Hopper on speed. Emile Hirsch is
adequate as Johnny, but it's neither a
memorable nor a compelling portrayal. A
little star power is provided by Bruce
Willis in a small role as Johnny's dad
and an equally underexposed Sharon Stone
as Zack's mom. (One of those rare
occasions when "underexposed" and
"Sharon Stone" can rightfully be used in
the same sentence.)
Cassavetes approaches the subject matter
with a clear eye and a gallows sense of
humor. Most of Alpha Dog's jokes are
dark, darker, and darkest. The film is
designed to make viewers feel
uncomfortable and it punctuates that
success with a gut-punch, even though we
know what's coming. Cassavetes isn't
interested in generating suspense; this
is more of a study of human nature. The
picture he paints isn't pretty but, by
all accounts, it's accurate at least
insofar as generalities are concerned.
Alpha Dog isn't a happy movie, but it's
dramatically solid and the impressions
it leaves will not be easily shaken.
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