Serpico (1973) Review

 

Serpico (1973)

Serpico follows Frank Serpico, an idealistic New York City cop who refuses to buy into the corruption and bribery of the rest of the police force, forcing him to go public with his complaints, a move that alienates him from every force in the city and ultimately puts his life in serious danger. 

From the jump, Serpico isn’t your typical cop drama but a film of conspiracy, corruption, and morals in the face of what’s right. I think it’s given a heady dose of tension as well, considering what’s depicted is based on true events (a lot of which the movie gets right). See, Frank, as many idealistic young men often do, joined the New York Police Department with hopes of making a difference in his city and society as a whole. What he found however, was a systemic culture of corruption, forcing him to face his own crisis of conscience, where his very honesty makes him a marked man. 

What makes this so unique though is how it isn’t your usual cops-vs-bad-guys scenario (which of course there are some), it’s Frank vs everyone, specifically, his fellow cops, which just makes for a film loaded with a foreboding sense of paranoia and suspense, especially given the at the viewer is let in on the outcome immediately. Therefore, Serpico becomes a pariah, a lone wolf, knowing it’s only a matter of time before he will be hunted down by his fellow officers and left for dead, which quite literally happens. 

We get a pretty extensive cast here too, starring Cornelia Sharpe, John Randolph, Barbara Eda-Young, Edward Grover, Jack Kehoe, Tony Roberts, and Al Pacino. For once, I have to agree with Pacino’s methodic, bombastic approach to Frank Serpico because the way he just taps into that anger and need for justice is just riveting stuff, excelling as the strong silent type just as much as the loud and time weary cop he ends up becoming. 

Based on the true story of former NYPD officer Frank Serpico, Serpico, directed by Sidney Lumet, is an honest and extremely raw film that doesn’t hold back when detailing the rampant corruption found in politics and the NYPD in the 70s, foregoing the happy ending for a depressingly grim finish, quite like what Frank was left with in real life. 

8.3/10