Serpico

LETS GO WITH SERPICO!!! He really got everyone’s respect… but help from no one. For those who don’t know, Serpico is based on the real life Frank Serpico, who exposed corruption within the police force after years of pressure, isolation, and internal conflict. This is exactly my kind of movie. A character driven, system exposing story that doesn’t overstay its welcome at all, with intense and superb acting all around. It reminded me a bit of The Departed, just less dramatized, more grounded and real. There are also slight echoes of Whiplash in how it pushes a character to their breaking point but again, this is all based on a real person, which makes it hit even harder. Serpico is genuinely a hero. And then there’s Al Pacino… wow. You can really see that post Godfather energy here, he doesn’t hold back. The intensity, the unpredictability, the raw emotion but also those mellow, analyzing scenes… it’s all there. It honestly frustrates me how many absolutely stellar performances he had to deliver before finally winning an Oscar. I’m a big fan of the “beginning with the end” structure here. It reminded me a bit of Fight Club, and that’s something I’ve always liked. Serpico’s first “hit” is such a strong opening it immediately sets the tone for the harsh and dark reality, and the interrogation scene that follows reinforces who he is as a character right from the start. This is one of the few movies where I actually sat through the entire end credits. The music, the final shots, just sitting there processing what I’d just watched. That kind of feeling doesn’t come around often. Now, even though I love this, it’s not perfect. The time jumps were a bit confusing at times. They make sense overall, and the story is still 99.9% linear, but because it hops forward so often, I occasionally had to stop and wonder if we’ve gone forward a couple of months or not. But then again, that might be part of the movie… seeing it from Serpico’s POV… things getting more out of hand and “dizzying” the more he spirals I also feel like the parents could’ve been portrayed as a bit more distressed toward the end. Come on your kid is in the hospital… That said, none of that really takes away from the impact this had on me. The feeling it left me with, and the appreciation I have for the story, easily puts it in my top 4 right now. Feels a bit bad kicking The Father down after just putting it there a few movies ago… but yeah, I don’t really have a choice. Favorite lines: "You fire without looking? You fire without a warning? Without a fucking brain in your head!" *"-its not the heat, its the humidity" *"-i had a feeling you were gonna say that" "if I could just get to work alone" "come out, potato! Come out!" 10/10 new top four!