Serpico (1973)

My 27 movie A-Z film-a-thon: day 20.

Serpico (1973)

Serpico is life summarized. If I could recommend it to one group, it’d be college-aged people considering law enforcement. This should be required viewing. It’s a true story — and it feels like one.
The effect is sobering. Serpico isn’t a saint; he just sticks to a couple of moral rules, and for that, he’s targeted. Mostly, he’s punished for being a nonconformist who won’t take bribes. Turns out that’s a real problem.

There’s one scene that nearly derailed the film for me. Early on, Serpico stumbles on a group of young Black men assaulting a woman. It’s brief and has no impact on the story. I initially excused it as something that “probably happened.” But it didn’t. It’s not in Serpico’s memoir and appears to be completely invented. That makes its inclusion worse. It plays into a racist stereotype under the guise of “filling in context.” This isn’t harmless background — it’s racially charged mythmaking.

Structurally, the movie is messy. It jumps between years, jobs, and relationships with little concern for narrative momentum. The fabricated scene I mentioned only exists to make Serpico look sympathetic — even to a rapist. He helps the man, walks him to a café, and threatens to shoot him if he runs. It’s absurd and undermines the film’s credibility.

And that’s the problem: if this film invents major scenes, how much can we trust the rest? So much of the runtime is spent on relationships and moments that never happened. Serpico’s partner leaving him in the bathtub to marry someone else? Pure invention. These scenes feel like homework: are they fair to minorities, to Serpico, to the police?

Still, the core story remains: Serpico faced relentless pressure to conform, constant harassment, baseless rumors, and professional roadblocks. He did the right thing, and it made his career stagnant and his personal life chaotic.

The film feels endless by design. That’s part of the truth it captures: being a good cop in a corrupt system leads to isolation, thanklessness, and futility. No promotions, no recognition, no peace.

Serpico is not a great film. Its liberties are frustrating. But it’s essential viewing. If someone sees this and still wants to be a cop, maybe — just maybe — that’s the kind of person we need.

7.5/10