Plot
In 1999, Johnny Truelove works as a young drug dealer while making a living in the San Gabriel Valley.
Johnny's father, Sonny, supplies him with marijuana, which he distributes with his gang of friends: Frankie Ballenbacher, Johnny's right-hand man and best friend; Tiko Martinez, the group's muscle; Elvis Schmidt, who is ridiculed for being in debt to Johnny; and Jake Mazursky, a local drug addict also in debt with Johnny. Jake attempts to borrow money from his father, Butch, and stepmother, Olivia, while his younger half-brother Zack looks up to him and longs to escape his home life.
A fight breaks out when Jake tries to pay Johnny only part of his debt, leading Johnny to get him fired from his telemarketing job by ratting on him to his boss that Jake is on drugs, and Jake to retaliate by breaking into and trashing Johnny's house with a couple of his friends. Johnny brings Frankie and Tiko to confront Jake, but he is nowhere to be found. Spotting Zack on the side of a road, the gang impulsively kidnaps him, planning to hold him until Jake pays up, and drive to Palm Springs. Frankie is left to watch Zack while Johnny and Tiko return to San Gabriel for prior commitments. That night, while attending a street fiesta, Frankie offers Zack a chance to leave, but he declines, wanting a break from home and not wanting to cause more problems for Jake, and the two strike up an unlikely friendship.
Staying at the house of Frankie's father, Juergen, Zack meets Frankie's friends Keith Stratten, Julie Beckley (with whom he falls in love), Sabrina Pope (Frankie's girlfriend), and Susan Hartunian, the only one concerned about his abduction. Johnny comes over and contemplates with Frankie on what to do. Frankie suggests that they pay Zack to keep quiet about the kidnapping and send him home, to which Johnny agrees. However, after a threatening phone-call from Jake and learning from his lawyer that he could face life in prison for his actions, Johnny goes to Elvis and offers to cancel his debt if he kills Zack, handing him a submachine gun before going out with his girlfriend, Angela Holden, to celebrate her birthday. Believing Zack will be returning home that night, Frankie and his friends throw a raucous party at a hotel, during which Zack goes skinny dipping with Julie and her friend Alma, leading to a threesome wherein he loses his virginity. [4]
Julie, Alma, Susan, and Sabrina all happily say goodbye to Zack and leave. A little while later, Elvis arrives and argues with Frankie over Johnny's plan to kill Zack. While Frankie runs off, Elvis politely introduces himself to Zack, then takes Keith to dig a grave in the nearby mountains. Frankie returns and gives Zack a final chance to escape, but Zack declines, oblivious to the danger he's in. Elvis and Keith return, and Frankie finally relents when Elvis explains they could all face life in prison if Zack goes home. Sonny, Johnny's godfather and Sonny's older accomplice Cosmo Gadabeeti, and their lawyer confront Johnny, telling him they will try to make a deal with Olivia so the crew will get a light sentence, which Johnny believes will never work. Sonny also furiously orders Johnny to call off the hit, but Johnny refuses, believing Zack is already free.
Frankie, Elvis, Keith, and Zack drive out into the mountains and begin walking up a remote hiking trail. Keith tearfully embraces Zack and refuses to go any further up. Zack finally realizes the danger he's in when he sees the grave and begins to break down crying, pleading for his life. Frankie contemplates to Elvis that they shouldn't do it, but Elvis insists on following through to repay his debt. Frankie calms Zack down, telling him that he would never hurt him, and ties his hands and mouth with tape. Elvis then knocks Zack down into the grave and shoots him dead before he and Frankie silently leave. Left in the hastily covered shallow grave, Zack's body is found by hikers a few days later.
Sometime later, Susan angrily confronts Frankie over Zack's murder before she goes to alert the police, who catch Elvis trying to secure a lift out of town. Johnny flees to Albuquerque, New Mexico where an old classmate of his, Buzz Fecske, then drives him to Cosmo's house. Tiko, Keith, Frankie, and Elvis are convicted for their roles in the kidnapping and eventual murder, with Tiko serving nine years in prison, Keith staying at the California Youth Authority until the age of 25, Frankie receiving a life sentence, and Elvis on Death Row in San Quentin State Prison.
Upon being asked about how Johnny was able to escape authorities for four years without any known source of help, Sonny and Cosmo deny having anything to do with it and take no responsibility in how Johnny turned out and the crimes he committed. In 2005, after over five years on the FBI's most wanted list, Johnny is arrested in Paraguay, now back in California awaiting trial, facing the death penalty if found guilty.
Legal issues
During filming in 2004, Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Ronald J. Zonen provided copies of many documents on the case and served as an unpaid consultant to the film, citing his desire to have Hollywood captured. Zonen prosecuted Hollywood's co-defendants and was poised to prosecute Hollywood. After Hollywood was captured in Saquarema, Brazil, and subsequently returned to the United States, his defense lawyer claimed Zonen had a conflict of interest; the California Court of Appeal for the Second District ruled on October 5, 2006, that Zonen should be recused from further involvement in prosecuting Hollywood because of his disclosure of the files and work on the film. [9] [10] The California Supreme Court subsequently reversed that holding, [11] [12] but Deputy District Attorney Joshua Lynn replaced Zonen as lead prosecution attorney. [13]
Hollywood's attorney, James Blatt, tried to block the release of the film. [14] After the delay, Hollywood's trial started May 15, 2009, with the defense's opening statements saying Hollywood was not involved with the murder. [15] In his opening statement, Lynn described Hollywood as "a ruthless coward." [16] On July 8, 2009, Hollywood was convicted of simple kidnapping and first-degree murder with special circumstances and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. [5]
Reception
Box office
During its opening weekend, Alpha Dog grossed $6,412,775 and was #7 at the box office. [19] The film closed on February 22, 2007, after grossing $15,309,602 domestically, and totaled $32,145,115 worldwide over its six-week release. [2]
In the United States, Alpha Dog was released on January 12, 2007, along with Stomp the Yard & Primeval .
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 54% of 144 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10.The website's consensus reads: "A glossy yet unflinching portrait of violent, hedonistic teenagers. Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone chew the scenery, while Justin Timberlake gives a noteworthy performance." [20] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 53 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [21] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale. [22] [23]
Justin Chang of Variety wrote: "Writer-director Nick Cassavetes' sprawling dramatization recklessly blurs the line between reconstruction and reality in ways that are admittedly interesting, if more than a little artistically suspect." [24] Yelchin was praised as "able to bring all of the conflicting emotions of Zack," and conveying all of it beautifully. [25]
Markowitz family reaction
Susan Markowitz attempted suicide three times. [26] Jeff Markowitz elaborated, "She is so tortured by what happened that she has tried to take her own life. The last thing that either of us want is to see this picture. How would any loving parent feel about a Hollywood movie that glamorizes their son's death and allows celebrities to cash in on a brutal, evil murder?" [27] Nonetheless, both Susan and Jeff attended the film's premiere, and Susan stated she was moved by Anton Yelchin's portrayal of Zack (Nick). After the screening, she embraced Sharon Stone, who played Olivia (Susan). [26]
Accolades
Award nominations for Alpha Dog| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|
| 2006 | Young Hollywood Awards | Breakthrough Performance - Male | Ben Foster | Won |
|---|
| 2007 | Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Ben Foster (Also for 3:10 to Yuma ) | Nominated |
|---|
| Gran Premio Internazionale del Doppiaggio | Best Rising Voice Actor | Andrea Mete (for the dubbing of Justin Timberlake) | Won |
| Best Voice Actor | Massimiliano Alto (for the dubbing of Emile Hirsch) | Nominated |
| Best Supporting Voice Actor | Loris Loddi (for the dubbing of Ben Foster) | Nominated |
| Best Dubbing Direction | Marco Mete | Nominated |
| Best Dubbing Technician | Stefano Nissolino | Nominated |
| Il Festival Nazionale del Doppiaggio Voci nell'Ombra | Best Character Actor Voice | Loris Loddi (for the dubbing of Ben Foster) | Won |
| MTV Movie Awards | Breakthrough Performance | Justin Timberlake | Nominated |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie: Breakout Male | Justin Timberlake (Also for Black Snake Moan ) | Nominated |
