2008 Woodie Awards
'Alpha Dog' has shrill bark but surprisingly strong
Christy Lemire, Associated Press
Issue date: 1/15/07 Section: Frontline
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They're bored, white kids with too much money and time on their hands and, in their shallow estimation, nothing better to do than sit around getting high, playing video games and emulating the speech and bravado of their favorite rap videos. (Every other word is "chill," "dog" or an F-bomb. Word.)
But they feel real and alive in the hands of writer-director Nick Cassavetes-who couldn't have gone in a more opposite direction from his 2004 weepy romance "The Notebook"- and whose story of drugs, kidnapping and murder is inspired by a 1999 Southern California case.
The situations become shrill, overlong and a bit repetitive (how many parties can these people attend over a three-day period?) but they also grow increasingly volatile, which allows for vibrant performances from a hot, young cast that includes Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Amanda Seyfried and Olivia Wilde.
Justin Timberlake is surprisingly good as one of the kidnappers-you already knew he was charismatic and if you've seen him on "Saturday Night Live," you knew he was exceedingly capable of comedy. But here, all buffed and tatted, he succeeds at digging deep dramatically, as well.
His character, Frankie, shares a tangible, unexpected bond with the doomed 15-year-old victim, Zack (Anton Yelchin), who doesn't think he's a victim and is actually thrilled to be hanging out with the cool kids for once-which makes his story that much more tragic.
Here's how this whole mess happens, which Cassavetes presents as a docudrama, complete with dates, times and places: Zack's older brother, the jittery speed freak Jake (Foster), owes pot dealer Johnny Truelove (Hirsch) about $1,200. He doesn't have the money and can't get it, even after begging his father and stepmother (David Thornton and Sharon Stone) for it.
This sets off a childish, destructive battle between the hotheaded Jake and Johnny and their trash-talking minions, guys who probably weren't all that bright in the first place and whose judgment is even more distorted since they're perpetually under the influence of something.
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