Alpha Dog Review

Wow! I didn't expect much of this film going in but by the end of the movie I was pleasantly surprised. The cast being a who's who of up and coming young actors made Alpha Dog one of those film you have to run and tell your friends about. I consider myself somewhat of a movie connoisseur and try to stay up top date with a lot of films even if I don't plan on seeing them. How I managed to go this long without seeing this movie is beyond me.

Alpha dog is directed by Nick Cassavetes and was one of those Sundance hits back in 2006. The movie is based on the true story of the kidnap and murder of Nicholas Markowitz which occurred back in 2000. A young drug dealer and his group of friends are implicated in the murder of the teen after holding him hostage as a bargaining chip against the teens older brother who owes the drug dealer some money. Going in I had no idea this film was based on a true story or true events as Hollywood likes to say but during the film that was a question I asked myself throughout. Kinda reminded me of the film Bully which was also based on a true story but both films had their differences as well.

The film started off very juvenile which didn't leave me with much hope that the movie would continue to keep my interest through the entire film. In a way the movie sort of lulls you to sleep -- figuratively speaking of course, but once the story reaches it's peek it grabbed my full attention and never let it go! 

The performances in Alpha Dog are what surprised me the most. Justin Timberlake, who at the time had no real acting credits to his name did a damn good job portraying a wanna-be gangsta with a heart. Emile Hirsh who's a pretty good actor in his own right played the role of the drug dealer very convincingly. The cast also included Olivia Wilde, Shawn Hatosy, Ben Foster, Amanda Seyfried, Amber Heard, Dominique Swan, Chris Marquette, Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone. While complimenting each other very nicely they each added a little something to the film as well. 

I'm glad I had to chance to see this film and I highly recommend that you do the same. I'm not one for recommending movies at all I just like giving my opinions of them but if you want to see a great story play out right before your eyes and a performances that will most definitely surprise you then Alpha Dog is a movie you will end up recommending too. 

5 out of 5 stars