Nov 18

Nov 18 DOC NYC film review: 'Blue Code of Silence'

In this era where public outrage decries the 'bad apples' within law enforcement, the documentary 'Blue Code of Silence' (screening at DOC NYC 2020) paints a humanizing portrait of one officer surrounded by corruption that infected virtually every facet of the New York Police Department.

In short: Former NYPD Detective Bob Leuci tells his side of the story - and his role as an informant instrumental in taking down New York City’s most corrupt police unit in the 1970s.

The smartest decision 'Blue Code' makes is establishing how Leuci's fellow officers honestly felt about him. He's immediately established as 'persona non grata' among NYPD detectives. It's a vitriol one might expect police officers might only harbor for the worst of the worst criminals. It automatically begs the question: what could this guy have done to illicit such contempt among career detectives?

'Blue Code' plays out like a real-life 'Training Day,' wherein the central figure is a fresh-faced detective who steps into a den of corruption. The key difference is, unlike the 'Training Day' protagonist, Leuci candidly describes the willful decision to join a lifestyle that more closely resembles that of a gangster than policeman.

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It's almost impossible to imagine how any meaningful documentary could have been made about this investigation without having Leuci front and center. At times, Leuci's segments feel confessional - as if he's relieving himself of a great burden. The gritty Manhattan that Leuci describes an irresistible temptation that almost makes corruption seem inevitable.

While the world prefers a binary perspective of the world - where there are "good guys" and "bad guys," this documentary simultaneously presents Leuci as a hero as much as a "coward." His legacy is that of an informant who uprooted corruption - and simply that of a "rat." This is a compelling examination of police corruption as much as a portrait of one flawed man who crossed the thin blue line. The long-term takeaway of this documentary is how unilaterally law enforcement - even the ones who condemn police corruption - condemn whistleblowers as much, if not more, than they despise criminals who do wear the badge.

Final verdict: 'Blue Code' is a timely look at a police culture without rules and value loyalty above all else — and what happens when corrupt law enforcement answers to no one.