Review of Carlito's Way (1993) by Jason D — 03 Jun 2010

It's a given that both Brian De Palma and Al Pacino have done bigger and better movies, however Carlito's Way will ALWAYS be my favorite of their esteemed work. Carlito's Way is the story of infamous Puerto Rican ex-con Carlito Brigante, who, thanks to bureaucracy and his clever white lawyer (Sean Penn, in an amazing role), has escaped a 30-year sentence after only 5 years in jail.

However, those five years were enough for Carlito who has officially gone the straight and narrow path and hopes to save up 70,000 dollars to go in on a car rental place in the Bahamas. With that, Carlito gets a job running a popular local club, and the money starts coming in.

Carlito's problems mount though as, no matter how hard he tries to stay away from the crime world, it keeps trying to bring him back in. When he's not ruffling the feathers of up and coming crime lord Benny Blanco (John Lequizamo in a fun role), he's having to help downward spiraling Penn who embraces the crime world more and more every day.

To add to things, Carlito tries to rekindle a relationship with former love of his life Penelope Ann Miller (also good in this) while trying to not fall prey to narc Viggo Mortensen (in a shamefully small yet unrecognizable role).

This film has no shortage of amazing people that make up this cast, and the story is very engaging. You feel all of this sympathy towards Carlito and hope that he somehow succeeds, regardless of what they give away in the very beginning of the film.

It's a powerful period piece thriller that's accentuated by excellent performances, and engaging story, and a fun 70's soundtrack. This is one of those movies that I absolutely love and can watch over and over again.

In my opinion, a real masterpiece.