Al Pacino stars as Frank Serpico, an honest cop who wanted to serve the city of New York when everyone around him was corrupt. Directed by Sidney Lumet, this film launced Pacino into superstardom, and showcased his fantastic ability to bring his characters to life.

In this case, he did so despite some truly horrible wardrobe choices which must have been bad even for the late 60s and early 70s.

Refusing to wet his beak the way the rest of the force around him does, Serpico is made to feel like a criminal for following the law. And his refusal puts him on the wrong side of those he works with. Even when he’s offered help from outside the department, he’s anxious. But he’s driven to do the right thing, even as those higher up seem to ignore his pleas and ignore the evidence that is presented to them.

Lumet makes a gritty New York film that vividly brings that era back to life. Of course, it was only a year earlier that the climax of the film actually occurred. I love this look at New York, the 70s are edging in, and beginning to settle into a city that, at the time, visually seemed to have peaked in the 50s.

It’s a story that takes its time; its temporal positioning is dictated by Pacino’s facial hair. In fact, the entire movie is rather slow. But it works. It builds, it lets Pacino breathe life into his incarnation of Serpico, even as it lays out the police corruption that was rampant at the time and took forever to effect change.

All Serpico wanted was to be a cop, and he has his dream taken away from him, and it destroys his life, along with those he wanted to share it with.

Lumet makes the film engaging, despite its pace, and it watching Serpico race to the film’s violent conclusion, revealed in the opening minutes of the film, leaves a pall of tension over the film. The film almost has a cinema verite feel to it, aided by the fact that everything was shot on location.

The film, and the city, is dirty, grimy, on the edge of falling apart, even as it tries to move forward. Garbage lines tenement halls, even good cops make questionable decisions that would have had cases thrown out.

It was a different time. Though it could be argued not so different from what we see in some places today.

This is a fantastic film for both Lumet and Pacino, and from here, Al could and would do anything.