Rating of
4/4
Another Al Pacino Gem!
mdtinney - wrote on 07/23/09
Brian DePalma and Al Pacino team up once again after Scarface, and combine to make what I think is a better movie in Carlito's Way. Anyway, Pacino was terrific as Carlito Brigante, an ex-dealer/ex-criminal type who's trying to make amends on the outside after he leaves prison life after a few years. Carlito's lawyer, who's brilliantly played by Sean Penn, is about as crooked as a dog's back leg, but has Carlito's loyalty because he got him out of jail when no one else seemed to care about him. Add a cool 1975 soundtrack and atmosphere, and we have the ingredients of a finely tuned picture which even involves a past love of Carlito's, played by Penelope Ann Miller. Even though he's still constantly surrounded by drug dealers and thugs, he tries his best to go straight and escape his unfortunate surroundings and take the love of his life with him. The question is whether he can escape before time runs out on him, or is he ever truly free from past demons? This isn't your run-of-the-mill gangster, shoot-em-up piece, so don't expect Scarface, pt.2, because Carlito's Way has much more soul and is very humbling, and almost depressing as we feel his pain, so to speak. Kudos to DePalma and Pacino on collaborating a fine, if not forgotten gem.
