Dog Day Afternoon

Sidney Lumet's 1975 film covers a badly planned bank robbery in New York. It quickly becomes a hostage situation. A crowd gathers outside. The film takes place almost entirely inside the bank; the narrative shows how the media and the crowd shape the event and runs close to real time. It rests on a real case. Al Pacino leads and the film won an Academy Award for its screenplay. The reason for the robbery is money for a gender-affirming operation, and the film tells that in the language of its period. Who it's for: those who like American cinema of the seventies. Who it's not for: viewers expecting present-day sensitivity in the depiction of a trans character; the language is of its time.