Serpico

Traditionally the police officer id the hero of any story he is included in and rightfully so. It takes a special type of person to willingly assumer the heavy responsibility to serve and protect their community. The one downside with the police is the recruit from the flawed species called humanity. As such some assuming the mantle of our blue clad protectors are out to provide for themselves. This has made possible for a different literary archetype to appear; the corrupt cop. In many ways this type of villain is more despicable than others. The lowest level of Dante’s inferno was reserved for those who break a sacred trust of the innocent. Cops that turn their backs on their responsibilities are certainly deserving of that fate. This also demonstrates just how long this theme has been part of storytelling. When it comes to corrupt cop movies one film maker has not one but two of the best examples of this plot in cinematic history; Sidney Lumet. He was the film maker who brought audiences ‘Prince of the City’ and the movie under consideration here; ‘Serpico’. Both of them are not only classics within this very specific genre but, as is the case with just about every film created by Mr. Lumet, as cinematic masterpiece created by a artisan in the use of cameras and their lenses. If you are in the mood for an emotionally intense movie than you need look no further than this one, it is guaranteed to keep you riveted to the edge of your seat from the first frame to the final closing credit. This may be an older DVD but it is readily available and well worth adding to your collection. ‘Serpico’ is much better than most of what fills the best seller list today and is a piece of film history that should not be missed. I

The story is based on the career of New York City police officer Frank Serpico, played with extraordinary precision by Al Pacino. This is one of his generation’s most talented actors and many cite to this film as his finest performance. Considering the list of incredible films he has been in that is quite a statement. The non-fiction book that became the basis of the story was written by Peter Maas and transferred to a powerful screenplay by Waldo Salt. He received an Academy Award nomination for this script having won for ‘Midnight Cowboy’ and ‘Coming Home’. The screenplay presents Serpico as a tragic hero. His inability to turn away from criminal activity is depicted as his greatest moral strength and a hindrance to his chosen profession. Sidney Lumet is one of the greatest directors who ever sat behind a camera. It is a criminal injustice that although he has been nominated five times for an Oscar he has never taken home Hollywood’s much lauded little golden man. As a side note he did receive an honorary award in 2005 but he remains one of the Academy’s most notable unjust snubs. Lumet is a New Yorker through and through even though his birth place was Philadelphia. New York City is by far his favorite location and this film is a prime example of this fact. The movie begins with a grainy look that perfectly sets the stage for the moral ambiguity to follow. The movie gradually becomes clearer as Serpico begins to realize the extent of police corruption surrounding him. This is very much a trademark for Lumet; the proactive use of the camera. For Lumet the camera is never a voyeur, it is always an active participant, as much a character in the drama as the leading actor. While many directors delegate the choice of lenses to the director of photography this selection is a matter of upmost importance to Lumet driving his style and setting the course of the film’s presentation.

The film begins with an injured detective being rushed to the hospital. He had just been shot in the face and as noted by some on lookers the prime suspect would be another police officer. The movie moves back in time before this incident to detail the early career of Frank Serpico. He is depicted as a natural for police work. On his first shift on patrol he manages to prevent a young woman from being raped by a gang of men. It doesn't take long before Serpico notices some illegal activities among his fellow officers. The actions that chaff Serpico to his moral center run the gamut from minor neighborhood pay offs to integration methods that would be considered harsh in Guantanamo Bay. For the officers involved in these actions Serpico is seen as an outsider and therefore a danger to the status quo. The more Serpico sees the more determined he becomes the more determined he becomes to set matters straight and the bigger threat he poses to the corrupt officers. Usually a man working outside the establishment is depicted by the vigilante trope. This film takes a different slant to this situation by having the establishment as the major part of the problem. Serpico is the epitome of the noble iconoclast. He seeks to pull down the corrupt system to permit the construction of a righteous replacement. Pacino balances the audience perception of this man as an idealist that isn’t completely devoid of an appreciation of reality. Pacino is powerful in his method here playing Serpico as a man internally conflicted. He is not suicidal, he knows the other will kill him if he persists in his mission but his compulsion to live up to his vow to enforce the law overrides everything else. When a master class director like Lumet gets on set with a brilliant actor such as Pacino the result is pure magic. The two have worked together before in ‘Dog day Afternoon’ and in this film they push each other to some of their finest work. the DVD is from a number of years ago and it is evident in the audio and video which is admittedly not what most have become used to, there are a couple of interesting featurettes. this is a classic that demands to be in any collection.

Posted 02/10/11