Precinct Seven Five

 

There’s always some solace in seeing a fictionalized account of New York City’s crime and law in the seventies and eighties. Whether it’s Sidney Lumet’s Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon, Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets and Goodfellas, or J.C Chandor’s recent A Most Violent Year, as a viewer you’re always slightly comforted in the knowledge that what you’re seeing is fiction, or at least a fictionalised version of the truth. In Precinct Seven Five, director Tiller Russell has presented an extraordinary version of police corruption in the eighties that, but for the fact that it’s scarily all true, could easily rank amongst the great stories of the genre. Whereas the former can be enjoyed as fiction, his documentary is utterly shocking in its authenticity.

New York’s 75^th Precinct, known colloquially as the ‘Seven Five’, was something of a Wild West in the eighties. The almost bankrupt city was a haven for drug-dealers, and crime was rampant. The film’s main focus is a patrolman named Michael Dowd who, during his eleven years on the force, became embroiled in some of the worst cases of police corruption the city had ever seen.

The film’s primary strength comes with the charismatic nature of the interviewees. Along with Dowd, four other former policeman – all of whom had some links with the corruption – unravel the, at times, complicated, and always fascinating story. They all have a natural presence on camera, sometimes reveling in being given the platform to share their story, other times withdrawing into shameful silence as they remember their past crimes. They are also joined by Adam Diaz, a Dominican drug lord from whom Dowd received pay-offs for information and protection, and who offers an equally fascinating account of the events.

Dowd explains his initial desire to be a clean cop, before an opportunity to take a quick $200 presented itself during a routine car search. Experiencing the pressures of a young family and living paycheck to paycheck, he found a stack of $100 bills and asked the driver to “buy him a lobster dinner” in return for being let go. Upon getting away with it, this escalated to the point that Dowd was buying beach houses, sports cars and protecting some of the most dangerous criminals in New York City.

The despicable nature of his actions leave you in no doubt as to the nature of his character, but in seeing him talk – both during archive footage of his trial, and the talking-head interviews - you can’t help but understand how he got away with it for so long. He is naturally charismatic and charming, even at times likeable. A post-credit interview with his arresting officer explains Dowd’s reaction to being put into his cell for the first time, and his exclamation that the year wasn’t completely a waste as the Rangers (a New York ice hockey team) had won a trophy.

In the hands of less interesting interviewees, the majority talking-head style of documentary could become tedious, but it is credit both to the interviewees and Russell’s direction that Precinct Seven Five never becomes less than fascinating. It’s a captivating exploration of group dysfunction, greed and corruption set against the tumultuous backdrop of eighties New York.

Precinct Seven Five will be showing at Broadway Cinema until Thursday 20 August 2015.

Precinct Seven Five Trailer