Serpico

“What’s this for? For being an honest cop? Or for being stupid enough to get shot in the face? You tell them they can shove it.” Robert de Niro has Travis Pickle, and Al Pacino has Frank Serpico. They both are psychologically disoriented, they both are framed ambiguously as “heroes” they both suffer from social alienation and isolation, Serpico is an outsider to the NYPD, and Travis Bickle is an outsider to civilian society, both having the “outsider” status. They both have an obsession with moral decay. Each character perceives New York as morally corrupt. Serpico sees corruption in law enforcement and seeks to expose it through ethical action. Travis views the city as filthy and sinful, obsessing over crime, prostitution, and what he sees as moral rot. The list of similarities goes on and on and the resemblance is uncanny. Only a goated actor playing a character who is isolated from society can save me now. All jokes aside, I wish I was alive in the 70s to witness this era of cinema. I was born too late.