Alpha Dog (Cert 15, 117 mins)
Stars: Bruce Willis, Anton Yelchin, Justin Timberlake, Sharon Stone, Matthew Barry, Emile Hirsch, Fernando Vargas, Vincent Kartheiser, Ben Foster
Directed by Nick Cassavetes BASED on a true story, Alpha Dog has a nasty tale to tell and while it tells it well for much of the time it falters too often. Written and directed by Nick Cassavetes, the film tells of the kidnapping of 15-year-old Zack Mazursky (Anton Yelchin) whose only crime was to be the brother of a man who owed money to a drug dealer. The dealer in question Jesse James Hollywood (changed in the screenplay to Johnny Truelove) decided to hold Zack to ransom and put him in the charge of his friend Frankie Ballenbacher. Ballenbacher took the boy and actually showed him a good time, enjoying for a brief weekend a life of drugs and women, while offering the usual threats. It was all to end in tragedy. The film has a fatal flaw in allowing drug dealer Truelove to bow out of the story early, although this does allow Justin Timberlake, right, to display his acting credentials as Ballenbacher. He turns in an excellent performance. Anton Yelchin is fine as the wide-eyed kidnap victim, but the film’s occasional mock documentary approach jars and with some over-acting by the supporting cast, the result is disappointing given the strong storyline. | 
