“The aspect of Nick’s script that I responded to the most was that I cared aboutthe characters,” recalls Foster. “These aren’t exactly likable people, but they’re kids, andit’s easy to forget that. They are trying to figure out the difference between being menand playing gangster, and not realizing that the line between playing and becoming isreally thin.”“Typically, you would cast someone bigger in this type of role,” reflectsCassavetes.
“Jake has been a lot of fun to play, very dark, but fun,” observes Foster. “Hehas a crystal meth addiction and when he says he’s going to break your skull, he probablywill. While Johnny’s gang does mostly play-pretend gang violence, Jake’s lifestyle isactually legitimate in the sense that he isn’t just posturing; he is what he seems to be.When Johnny and Jake meet and butt heads, it’s like two different worlds colliding.
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In Alpha Dog, Cocky and headstrong Johnny Truelove (EMILE HIRSCH) is living the thug wannabe's American dream as a mid-level drug dealer in a comfortable sector of the sprawling, privileged neighborhoods in Los Angeles' San Gabriel Valley. For Johnny and his crew of bros, wannabes and suck-ups -- landlocked in their suburban existence and burdened with too much time -- their existence is a heady blur of partying and looking for the next thrill. The model of the good life they imitate comes to them from rap music, video games and movies, and they spend their conscious hours copying the thug existence they idolize. Johnny has a wad of cash, a beautiful girl on each arm, a thriving business and plenty of weed to keep all his friends stoned.
When raging hothead Jake (Foster) fails to come up with deal money he owes Truelove, the situation escalates into a battle for dominance that culminates with Johnny and his gang impulsively kidnapping Jake's little brother, Zack (Yelchin). En route to Palm Springs, the group decides to keep the kid as a marker and slowly begins including him in their schedule, alternating between parties and slack time. With no parents in sight, they grow used to having him around. Under the temporary care of Johnny's charismatic friend Frankie (Timberlake), Zack now enjoys an illicit summer fantasy of drinking, girls and new experiences.
Out in the desert, everyone soon begins to lose sight that Zack is a hostage, a "stolen boy," and he can't just be simply returned. As the hours turn into days, solutions to the Zack problem begin to dwindle. Bad decisions are followed by worse ones. Johnny's dad (Willis) attempts to track down his son and convince him to return the hostage. With police called in by the boy's distraught mother (Stone), the situation grows even more complex, and Johnny finds himself out of his league with no idea how to fix it. For Johnny, the line between playing a thug and becoming one soon blurs, and very real, very adult and very dire consequences result for everyone involved.
This film has been rated RATED R by the MPAA for pervasive drug use and language, strong violence, sexuality and nudity
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