Mimi

“what? oh girlie please.” one thing i’ll always love about this film is the complexity of sonny. it’s very different to most crime films because you can see the humanity and empathy in sonny and how hard he fights to keep everyone happy in a hostage situation while also being the villain in said hostage - also mirrors in relationships with angie and leon. how many of the social issues embedded throughout the film that are still very prevalent today - such as a white man being praised for holding women hostage due to his economic cause and attractiveness while being booed in the same breath for being queer. then of course the famous attica chant that al pacino improvised, while quite manipulative, police brutality is still at play when they’re so quick to attack the black man who was actually a hostage.  i also love how the first 30 minutes of the film is essentially a comedy and gradually becomes more thrilling. the absence of music also feeds into the claustrophobic atmosphere and puts you on edge for the rest of the film. my favourite sidney lumet film for sure.

i wish martin short was my dad