The new Alpha Dog trailer has hit the web, and well… all I can say is that I’m getting less and less impressed with this project the more I see of it. I know, I know… a lot of people are saying good things about it. Fair enough. I have no reason to question that. All I’m saying is that from where I’m sitting Alpha Dog is looking more and more like a bust every time I see something new. This trailer is just a continuation of that.
The first Alpha Dog trailer I saw a few months back really surprised me… because although the buzz has been “This is Justin Timberlake’s Break out role!”… the trailer showed him saying NOTHING at all. And now this new Alpha Dog trailer comes along, and it seems to be diminishing his role in the film even further. Actually, this trailer makes it appear that Timberlake is nothing but a 4th or 5th character (which may very well be the case). Either way, it is becoming clear that this is indeed NOT Timberlake’s film.
As for the Alpha Dog trailer itself… I’m not impressed. At this point to me it looks like a high school film project gone bad. But trailers can be deceiving, so let’s wait and see when the movie actually comes out.
If you’d like to see the new Alpha Dog trailer you can just go here.
I think that the studio is trying to play down Timberlake’s role in the film to give the whole movie more validity as a real-life-rough-and-tumble situation. I mean, if you play up Timberlake’s role, you immediately get the people who say “oh, a movie starring a former boyband member, what a joke!” and completely write off the whole thing, as well as a majority of the moviegoing public who don’t take it nearly as seriously. By making it look like it’s not Timberlake’s film, the studios give it more legitimacy in thier target market with thier film (serious, drama-loving moviegoers).
Now, don’t let this trick you into thinking that he’s not the main character. While he’s not the main character or the driving force behind the movie, he’s defanately the protagonist as a point of entry into the film- we identify with him and it’s told partially through his eyes. If you want a ‘character rank’ he would be in the top three.
In regards to ‘breakout performance’, I would have to agree, mainly becasue he’s never done any serious acting, and in my opinion, he handles the large role very well. His emotional contribution to the climactic scene is what really made the movie hit home for me- I saw it at Sundance a couple of months ago, and while it probably shouldn’t have been in a film festival, was a good movie.