Review of Carlito's Way (1993) by John P — 12 Mar 2011

While not necessarily the masterpiece I thought it was when I was 14, it's still an enjoyable movie.

Pacino plays the titular Carlito Brigante, a noir antihero released from a 5-year prison sentence, who tries to leave his old gangster life behind. But to quote another Pacino gangster movie, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in".

What follows is not Scarface 2, which is what it certainly seems like at face value. But it's more than that. It is what I would call the spiritual sequel to that movie, but this one's more serious and less over-the-top. I guess you could take it as being a story about if Tony Montana didn't die and decided to wise the fuck up.

But enough comparisons. How's the movie? Well, Pacino does a good job, even though it sometimes seems like he's just doing the same Scent of a Woman gravelly-voiced yelling schtick that's plagued his career ever since his Oscar win, but he's still compelling, and he's still able to both carry the movie and entertain at the same time. The supporting cast is also rather good, especially Sean Penn and Johnny Legs, who are able to not only hold their own against Pacino, but also almost steal the scenes that they're in from Pacino. Also good is Luis Guzman, who I wish was in the movie more.

The cinematography and editing are as good as a De Palma movie's cinematography and editing should be, even if they're somewhat similar to other elements from other De Palma movies. Sequences in the bar, hospital, and Grand Central Station are all exciting no matter how many times you've seen them.

The main problem of the movie comes from the script, which suffers from too many David Koepp-isms. Many scenes are quite heavy-handed, which rob them of any sort of emotional connection that they were trying to achieve. I mean, there's a distinct gap in what De Palma seemed to be trying to do, and what Koepp was trying to do, because here's a film that is trying NOT to be Scarface 2, and Koepp's script seems to be doing the opposite. His voiceover for Pacino is slightly overwrought, and apart from Penelope Ann Miller's character, most of the others seem like exploitative cliched cartoons. Also, attempts at foreshadowing (including the beginning, which tells you how the movie's going to end from the fucking outset) fail miserably, allowing a 5 year old to watch this and guess all of the twists and turns.

So, the central contradiction of trying not to be a cartoon, but succeeding in being one sort of makes this an interesting failure. And by interesting, I mean really interesting. Because there are great moments, like Sean Penn, and the aforementioned action sequences. Ultimately, it's nothing special, but if you're interested in a more restrained Scarface, this is really your best option.