Serpico (1973)
Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe; d. Sidney Lumet; B

Like another collaboration between Sidney Lumet and Al Pacino, Dog Day Afternoon, I have heard almost nothing about the real-life events that inspired this film. But just like with Dog Day Afternoon, you don't need to know to enjoy it.

The first image of Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) is that of him in the back of a car with a dazed look on his face. He's been shot and is being taken to the hospital. People who we can assume are his co-workers are called with the news. One expresses shock and the other is not surprised. Seeing Serpico lying, still alive, on a hospital bed, being visited by one of his friends, we are taken back to when Serpico was a young, energetic uniformed police man just out of the police academy. He loves his job, but there's one thing about it that doesn't sit well with him: Police corruption. He'd rather do his job the honest and clean way, without getting any kickbacks from criminals. He also doesn't like to have any barriers between him and the common citizen, and it's easy to see he's got a connection with people (and animals). His unique personality, and his scruffy looks, make him all the more perfect choice to then become a plainclothes policeman. But the higher he gets in the police department, the bigger corruption he sees. He sees his coworkers cooperating with Mafia racketeers and getting money in return, an activity which he refuses to partake in. This quickly makes him an outcast among his peers. Things get even worse when Serpico desides that the best way to deal with his fustration is to bring the corruption to light by addressing it to high-ranking officials in the NYPD. As expected, though, Serpico's complaints fall on deaf ears, though his peers certainly hear them and are not particularly enthused. But Serpico keeps fighting, knowing what's right, even though he knows fully well that his status, and his life, might be in danger.

While not as good as the later Lumet/Pacino collaboration, Serpico is at least an uplifting, charming film with perhaps a few flaws. Al Pacino's performance as Serpico is great, the only truly noticable one in a film full of wallpaper secondary characters. Maybe, thought, it was the intent to keep the secondary characters in the background and let this intriguing main character take center stage. Serpico's story is an interesting one, very reminicent of Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, and I don't think it would have benifited if too many side stories and characters were dragged into light. One of the things I did not like was how the script treated Serpico's romances. The relationships between Serpico and his two love interests were horribly underwritten and underdeveloped. The worst thing about this film, though, would have to be its score, written by Mikis Theodorakis, which is rather saccarine and doesn't know when and where to stop. Otherwise, the film as a whole is pretty good. If it sounds sappy that I should call it a "feel-good" movie, so be it. But I couldn't help but feel inspired by this film and its main character. Definatley reccomended, but don't expect a masterpeice.

© Vert A Go Go Reviews 2001