Do all large cities have a movie themed diner that shows film screenings while serving diner food? Well, DC has one. I actually think we have two. I could easily research this with a Google search, but I’m not going to. You’re on your own for that.
Last night I went to one of these diners with my fiancée and some friends. The screening was none other than the Sidney Lumet classic Serpico. Al Pacino played the title character Frank Serpico, or Paco if you’re his friend. This is one of Pacino’s best performances. (The role earned him an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe win.)
Let’s just get the diner out of the way and then we’ll talk about Serpico. I love diner food. Burgers, fries, shakes. Nothing about those three things is bad, unless of course you ate at this diner. Although, the shake wasn’t too terribly awful. My stomach is still a little iffy about the whole situation.
The idea of watching a great movie while eating is very appealing to me because I’m fat and like movies. There weren’t very many people. There was one single woman and then a couple on a first date. It was an awkward first date of course. At one point the woman asked the man, “How do you feel about mental illness?” It flowed out of her mouth the same way one would ask, “How do you feel about cats?” So the pre-Serpico show was pretty amazing.
The projection wasn’t the best. Which was not to be expected. A great diner is a little dirty, and deteriorating around you. So that’s not a big deal. We were able to watch the whole movie just fine.
So now that that’s all done, let’s talk Serpico.
I love watching films from the 70s because you happen across actors in their youth. Judd Hirsch from Taxi had a small uncredited role, as did F. Murray Abraham. I had seen the film before when I was a kid so I didn’t know a lot of these actors at the time, but seeing them here was fun. Judd Hirsch looked so young.
It’s also nice to rewatch great work by great actors and then you can compare it to their latest projects. Al Pacino is a sad one to watch in his youth because there was such passion in his early work that you wonder, “What happened?” Obviously he’s not as sad to watch as Robert DeNiro or Jack Nicholson are today, but he’s just below them.
The real Serpico.
Serpico tells the story of a good cop in New York who refused to be corrupted by his fellow officers. He goes on a one man mission to expose their crimes and in the process risks his life and those who try to help him. The film follows Serpico from the academy to his testimony at the Knapp Commission created to investigate police corruption in New York. This commission ultimately led to the creation of Internal Affair divisions at all New York police precincts.
Again Pacino just blows it out of the water. There’s such an intensity in his eyes. I couldn’t imagine working with him in his prime. He must have been so intense. There were brief glimpses of it in You Don’t Know Jack, but for the most part, it appears the fire has faded. Watching the movie last night I can’t help hoping to see that intensity once again.
