Moving Pictures

Protect and Serve

Pachino Stars in Masterpiece 'Serpico' at the Belcourt

I previewed the Belcourt Theatre’s epic 1973 series in this paper a few weeks ago, and it’s hard to believe that the 18-film run is already almost over. The 1973 series highlights one of the greatest years in movies — particularly in American movies. Many of the films feature iconic performances from some of the best actors of the New Hollywood generation, I’m here to tell you that one of these is not like the others.

Al Pacino is the greatest actor to emerge from the great American films of the 1970s, and if I had to prove this point I could suggest a screening of Sidney Lumet’s masterpiece police-corruption saga, Serpico. Peter Maas wrote the book version of this story with his eponymous subject, former New York police detective, Frank Serpico. The book traces Serpico’s struggles with police corruption while serving for more than a decade with the NYPD. Serpico became a whistleblower, leading to the formation of the Knapp Commission. The commission indicted corrupt police officials and recommended sweeping administrative changes aimed at stamping-out systemic corruption in the department.

The 1970s gave audiences lots of anti-hero cops from Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (The French Connection, 1971) to “Dirty” Harry Callahan ( Dirty Harry, 1971). But Frank Serpico was different. Serpico ’s revelations of police corruption and the Knapp Commission had made national headlines, and Maas’s book version of Serpico’s story sold 3 million copies. People going to see Serpico in 1973 knew they were seeing a recreation of a story they were already familiar with. The movie’s depiction of Frank Serpico also defied Vietnam War/Watergate-era depictions — like those in The French Connection and Dirty Harry — of good police doing bad things for the right reasons. In the film, Frank Serpico is an idealist who joins the police force with ambitions to connect with his community and ensure its safety. He’s a fun-loving guy with a big heart, and his friends call him “Paco.” The character might have come off as naive or unbelievable despite Serpico’s real life story. But Pacino and Lumet portray Serpico as a man with a deep sense of justice and unshakable personal integrity. Serpico isn’t a self-righteous jerk, but he knows the difference between right and wrong, and he knows that his great power as an officer of the law comes with great responsibility. Pacino’s big troubled eyes draw viewers into his torment, and Serpico’s insistence on wearing long hair and street clothes also marks him as a man of the people and not another cop looking to line his pockets on the streets.

Lumet constructs his film as a long flashback. The movie opens with Serpico covered in blood in the back of a patrol car, rushing to a hospital after an arrest gone bad.

Following the gruesome images, Lumet cuts to Serpico graduating from the police academy and tells the story of his journey from hopeful police cadet to a gunshot victim who may have been set up by his fellow officers. The contrast between the murderous police corruption and Serpico’s sincere ambition to protect and serve creates the friction that energizes this gritty film. Conflicting loyalties and epic work/life imbalances propel Lumet’s scenes and Pacino’s performance with drama even though the audience already knows how the story is going to end.

The Belcourt could do a whole series on Al Pacino’s great performances of the 1970s. He’s incendiary in Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and supremely subtle in The Godfather Part II (1974), but there’s something endlessly endearing about his portrayal of the good cop, Frank Serpico. It’s like his girlfriend Leslie shouts during the film’s swanky seventies party scene: “Everybody loves you, Paco!”

Serpico screens as part of the Belcourt Theatre’s 1973 series on Wednesday, June 7. Go to www. belcourt.org for times and tickets

Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.