Alpha Dog (2006)

Director:

Nick Cassavetes

Writer (WGA):

Nick Cassavetes (written by)

Release Date:

12 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Inspired by true events.

Plot:

A drama based on the life of Jesse James Hollywood, a drug dealer who became one of the youngest men ever to be on the FBI's most wanted list.

Plot Keywords:

Drug Dealer | Drugs | California | Gang | Party

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Bruce Willis	...	Sonny Truelove
Matthew Barry	...	Interviewer (as Matt Barry)
Emile Hirsch	...	Johnny Truelove
Fernando Vargas	...	Tiko 'TKO' Martinez
Vincent Kartheiser	...	Pick Giaimo
Justin Timberlake	...	Frankie Ballenbacher
Shawn Hatosy	...	Elvis Schmidt
Alex Solowitz	...	Bobby '911'
Alec Vigil	...	P.J. Truelove
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Cosmo Gadabeeti
Frank Cassavetes	...	Adrian Jones
Nicole Dubos	...	Neighborhood Girl on Couch
Regina Rice	...	Dance Bitch Girl
Laura Nativo	...	Party Girl
Ben Foster	...	Jake Mazursky

Also Known As:

Jesse James Hollywood (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive drug use and language, strong violence, sexuality and nudity.

Runtime:

USA:122 min | USA:117 min (Sundance Film Festival) | Germany:118 min | Argentina:122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | USA:R (certificate #42022) | Ireland:18 | Italy:T | Germany:16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:R21 (cut) | France:-12 | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:18 | Malaysia:(Banned) | South Korea:18 | Peru:18 | New Zealand:R16 | Brazil:16 | Norway:15 (DVD rating) | Chile:18 | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Acton, California, USA

Company:

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

Trivia:

2006 Sundance closing film.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The Grn Apple Tree baseball tee worn by Frankie late in the film would not be released until the mid 2000's. Magic Hat beer is seen in several different scenes, but Magic Hat is not sold outside of the North East US states. The film takes place in CA.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sonny Truelove: You wanna know what this is all about? You can say it's about drugs or guns or disaffected youth, or whatever you like. But this whole thing is about parenting. It's about taking care of your children. You take care of yours, I take care of mine.

Movie Connections:

References Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

Soundtrack:

Johnny & Jake Fight

Alpha Dog

Alpha Dog is inspired by actual events and is about a drug dealer named Johnny Truelove who is owed money by an acquaintance of his named Jake. Seeing as Jake is not paying up, Johnny and his gang of friends decide to kidnap Jake's younger brother Zack and hold him until Jake pays. At first Zack is getting along really well with the people who kidnapped him and basically they just party and have fun all the time and Zack is not concerned at all. When Zack's parents and Jake become suspicious of who abducted him Johnny makes a plan with his friends as to what to do and things take a turn for the worst. Alpha Dog has good direction, a good script and good performances by the entire cast. After I left Alpha Dog, I realized just how impressed I was with it. Director and writer Nick Cassavetes does a great job of writing these teenage characters and just showing how they live their day to day lives. There is a certain authentic touch he gives these characters that makes the film all the more real and believable. The performances he gets out of these actors is also really impressive because everyone in this film shines. Near the end of the film the suspense builds up and the tension is delivered well and after the movie I could really feel the power of this film and it really made an impact on me. This is a type of film that left an impact on me that only truly great and powerfully made and delivered films will do. A lot of the film is just these teenage characters hanging out, partying and getting into trouble, but because it felt so real and genuine it was fascinating to watch. The scenes leading up to the powerful conclusion are also well written and I liked how the film looked at times like a documentary and at other times like a regular docudrama. The seediness and gritty nature of these characters and how they live and interact with each other is really showcased very well here and I don't think a film about teenagers and their lives has had such an impact on me since Larry Clark's Kids and Bully. This film is very similar to those films in a lot of ways and at times even borrows in their technique. However seeing as how I loved Kids and Bully this wasn't a problem for me at all and it just added to my love and admiration for this film. For a truly powerful and captivating motion picture that is a genuine and realistic slice of life which really had an impact on me I highly recommend this film. This is also the first film I have seen of 2007 and if there are more films with this kind of style, power and energy this year then 2007 will be a great year for movies.