Pacino, DePalma team on crime thriller ‘Carlito’s Way’

Editor’s Note: This is the last of three posts on films of Brian DePalma. 

CARLITO’S WAY (1993)

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

Fresh off his Oscar-winning performance in “Scent of a Woman,” Al Pacino jumped head-first into his second collaboration with director Brian DePalma following the ultra-violent “Scarface” in 1983.

In the process, Pacino wound up starring in yet another of a long line of mob films that have dotted his career that began with “The Godfather” and included that film’s two sequels and “Donnie Brasco.” Ahhh, but “Carlito’s Way” is significantly different.

Like “Scarface”, 1993’s “Carlito’s Way” features an Hispanic hero played by Pacino. But the similarities end there. These are two distinctly different films, both thematically and stylistically.

“Carlito’s Way” eschews the vicious, mean-spirited violence of “Scarface” for a haunting, tragic story of a deeply flawed man.

That’s also what sets this film apart from others in Pacino’s filmography. And it’s what makes this film such a memorable effort from DePalma, a talented but inconsistent film maker who created a reputation in the 1970s and early 1980s by directing suspenseful thrillers and horror films.

Let’s get this out of the way immediately: “Carlito’s Way” is violent and profane.

But DePalma uses his second film with Pacino to create an engrossing story centered around the title character of Carlito Brigante – a Puerto Rican mobster who is released from prison on a technicality, has had enough of crime and dreams of breaking free from his troubled past.

Carlito has a plan: Earn enough money through legitimate means so he could move to the Caribbean and invest in a car rental business. Along the way, Carlito slowly finds himself drawn back into the life. And Pacino brings the character to vivid life.

DePalma presents the story as a flashback, the same device he used to tell “Casualties of War.” The framing device works even better in “Carlito’s Way” – perfectly underlining the sad, empty life Carlito just couldn’t seem to escape.

Joining Pacino in the film are Sean Penn in a supporting role as Carlito’s sleazy attorney and a beautiful Penelope Ann Miller as Carlito’s girlfriend. Like the other two DePalma films I’m championing on this blog, “Carlito’s Way” underperformed at the box office and quickly faded from view.

“Carlito’s Way” is available on DVD and on Blu-ray disc (which, incidentally, features a pristine, eye-popping high-definition transfer). You can often find the film in bargain bins for less than $10 each; I purchased a Blu-ray copy for $7 at Best Buy, much less than what I paid to watch it in a substandard movie theater when it opened in 1993. If you don’t want to buy the film, you can stream it in high-definition until Feb. 1, 2012, through Netflix. The film is rated R for violence and profanity.

# # #