About Serpico (1973)
Real life story of undercover police officer Frank Serpico (Al Pacino), who discovers that corruption is rife soon after joining the force. Refusing the payoffs which have become accepted practice, the nonconformist Serpico finds himself spurned and harrassed by his fellow officers. When the strain of performing his job honestly finally becomes too much, Serpico turns first to the disinterested police commission and finally to the ‘New York Times’ to make his voice heard, and is forced to give evidence in the resulting investigation. However, with the cops as well as the crooks now out for his blood, Serpico discovers that integrity comes at a very high price.
Starring: Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire, Barbara Eda-Young
Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Runtime: 130 minutes
Studio: Paramount
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Review: Serpico
Oscar nominated Al Pacino plays Frank Serpico in Sidney Lumet’s gritty crime drama based on a true story. Starting in the police force in 1960, Serpico excels and rises slowly through the ranks but when he moves from uniform to plainclothes assignments he discovers that the level of corruption within the police force is staggering. The police have ties with criminals and accept pay offs to turn a blind eye to their activities. If this isn’t bad enough, Serpico is expected to do the same or risk the wrath of not just the criminals but his peers as well. Serpico places his integrity above anything else though and tries to defy the corruption.
Juggling work with personal relationships, Serpico finds the strain and pressure of his job driving his girlfriends away. He refuses to cave in to peer pressure and instead looks to expose the corruption within the police force by reporting to his superiors. Serpico soon discovers that he has a mountain of a task when his colleagues turn against him and his life comes under threat from all corners regardless of where he is transferred to. The question is can Serpico bring his colleagues to justice or will he wilt and succumb to the same corruption that is dragging the police force down.
Fresh from his role in The Godfather, Pacino delivered a very different performance here but it remains a powerful one. It’s saddening to watch him as the young and enthusiastic police officer at the outset and seeing how he deteriorates over the next twelve years. His hair his long, he has a beard and he wanders with his head down trying to avoid contact with his colleagues. Inevitably, something has to give as Serpico steps outside the police force and looks to outside agencies for help. That this story is true makes it all the more dramatic and sickening that an honest cop should be made to suffer so greatly.
Serpico is a compelling crime drama with a superb central performance from Pacino who was well worthy of the Oscar nod he received. Focusing less on fighting crime than aiding and abetting it, Serpico is all about the dark side of law enforcement and how trying to do the right thing leads to alienation and ultimately to violence.
Verdict: 4/5
