EIFF 2015: The Seven Five

In 1980s New York City, the crime rates were at an all-time high, crack cocaine was on the rise across the country and police corruption was rife, nowhere more so than the titular Precinct Seven Five and no cop was more notorious than Michael Dowd. Tiller Russell’s thrilling documentary tells the story of Dowd’s journey from skimming some cash here and there to setting up his own drug operation, all while under the employ of the NYPD.

It sounds like the stuff of so many crooked cop movies and TV shows, from Training Day to The Shield, but it’s all shockingly true. Tiller uses footage of Dowd’s 1993 hearing mixed with archive footage and a handful of compelling talking heads – from the cops involved to the gangsters they worked with and the feds trying to nail them – to craft a film as exhilarating as the fictional accounts we’re so used to seeing.

Given that he is the central figure in all of this, Dowd gets centre stage for much of the running time and he is a captivating character to watch, his eyes still lighting up when he recounts the events that led to him spending 12 years of a 16 year sentence in prison. The film paints Dowd as the ringleader in a precinct where a ‘good cop’ was one who was happy to skim a little money here, some drugs there and maybe even weapons. If someone wasn’t on the take, they weren’t trusted and maybe the other cops would be a little slow to respond to their calls for backup.

But Dowd clearly had an aptitude for crime and took it further than anyone else, eventually getting into business with a Domenican gang – lead by Adam Diaz, who provides the most charismatic talking head sections of the film – and helping tip them off about raids and shaking down rival gangs. Dowd eventually went into business for himself, setting up his own drug house and getting high on his own supply, while still functioning day to day as a beat cop. It’s no surprise that he describes the moment he finally gets caught as “a relief”.

Dowd’s arc plays out like Goodfellas’ Henry Hill but unlike that famous gangster, Dowd never ratted. Instead it was his long-time partner and best friend Ken Eurell, also interviewed here, who helped set up his buddy in exchange for his own freedom. The way Eurell talks, he was very much lead on by Dowd but it seems like he was already corrupt and only needed a slight push to get involved in Dowd’s operations.

Riding the true crime wave that’s seen podcast Serial and HBO series The Jinx, Precinct Seven Five has arrived at the right time. Russell has access to seemingly all of the key players involved and has no trouble coaxing fantastic soundbites from them, spinning it all into an enthralling tale of corruption, greed, drugs, violence, paranoia and eventually betrayal, all of which would no doubt make a fantastic Hollywood film. To the surprise of no-one, that film will arrive shortly via Sony Pictures, but topping the raw excitement of Russell’s true crime effort will be no mean feat.