It's the late 1970's, and New York convict Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino) has been rehabilitated by his prison stint and wants to lead a good and honest life. He's been paroled from a multi-year sentence for good behavior, and he doesn't want to wind back where he started. But, everywhere he turns, Carlito's friends and former/current associates gradually push him back into the lifestyle he has sworn to stay away from. One of them, Lalin, is played by freaking Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn from Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" movies); another, Pachanga, is played by the venerable Luis Guzman ("Boogie Nights"). John Leguizamo also excels as the creepy thug Benny. Switching sides at all times (and hurting his client as much as he helps him) is Brigante's snake of an attorney David Kleinfeld. Played by Sean Penn, Kleinfeld's channeling about a dozen different schizophrenics in a manic, coked-up tour-de-force attempt to keep the shattered pieces of his life from completely falling apart. The only person that truly cares for Carlito is his estranged girlfriend Gail (Penelope Ann Miller), but even that can't prevent the tragic set of circumstances in Carlito's past from catching up with him. Whether he lives or dies depends on how quickly he can think on his feet, and avoid a faith that destiny seems to have pre-set for him.
Sounds cliché and totally unoriginal (even by movie standards from a decade ago), and it's also unfortunately the main downfall of "Carlito's Way." You've seen this stories told on dozens of "Law & Order" and "NYPD Blue" TV episodes as well as a dozen independent movies every year: the bad guy that wants to do good but is forced by circumstances to go back into a life of crime he can't escape from. But you know what? Somehow, despite itself, "Carlito's Way" works and survives its worse enemy: itself. Ten years after their prior teaming-up gave the world "Scarface" (arguably one of the most popular mobster movies from the 1980's), producer Martin Bergman and director Brian DePalma were once again in charge of an epic motion picture crime drama starring the inimitable Al Pacino in the lead role. In 1993's "Carlito's Way" Pacino yet again plays a Hispanic criminal, only this time it's a reformed Puerto Rican ex-convict from New York City instead of a Cuban refugee arriving at Miami. And, unlike Tony Montana's self-destructing rise to the top of Miami's drug world, Carlito Brigante is a sincerely reformed man that wants nothing to do with his previous life as a petty NYC criminal. Scriptwriting duties for "Carlito's Way" weren't assigned to Oliver Stone though; instead David Koepp ("Jurassic Park," "Spider-Man," "Stir of Echoes," etc.) was handed the task of condensing a series of novels written by Edwin Torres into a 145 min. screenplay.
The result is a movie that is about 105 to 100 degrees opposite from where "Scarface" took its audience, one that compensates for its over-reliance on stereotypical characters with an extravagant collection of character actors mimicking Puerto Rican accents in their roles. At least "Carlito's Way," unlike "Scarface," casts more than a few token Hispanics in key roles to at least give the illusion that there were a few Spanish-speaking actors working in showbiz back in 1993 (unlike NBC's "Friends," which exists in an African-American free part of town I haven't stumbled into in my seven years plus living in the Big Apple). Also, unlike "Scarface's" penchant for needlessly showy self-contained set pieces that stood out from the otherwise average narrative, "Carlito's Way" actually has a pretty decent story that DePalma sticks to until the very end. That's when the director's urge to show-off results in an intense shootout that owes more than a passing nod to DePalma's own "Untouchables" movie six years prior (and laid the ground work for his cinematic 1998 tour-de-force "Snake Eyes," another David Koepp-scripted calamity). If you're patient enough to sit through the slow parts of "Carlito's Way" (of which unfortunately there are too many) and extinguish any thought of this being the heir apparent (or even spiritual brother) to "Scarface" you might actually enjoy this film a lot more than I did.
The Disc:
For a movie that was made in the early 1990's the DVD of "Carlito's Way" looks/sounds acceptable, but it isn't the least bit impressive by today's standards. The Widescreen Anamorphic (2:35:1) Video Transfer and English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround allow DePalma's impressive cinematic trickery to shine through during the movie's couple of impressive set pieces (particularly the aforementioned shoot-out in New York City's Grand Central Station). Most of the movie involves people talking in seedy locales under dim lights though; it's in these scenes where some of the artifacting and compression issues in the disc (which is a little less than 150 min.) rear their ugly face. It never sinks to the awful depths of the original DVD release of "Scarface" (which was worse-than-VHS terrible!), but a better transfer of "Carlito's Way" would be appreciated by dedicated film buffs and Pacino/DePalma completists.
A French Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Track as well as English & Spanish Subtitles are also included. Typical of previous DVD releases from other DePalma films, no commentary track is offered and the viewer is left in the dark about how the movie came to be. Only a handful of Production Notes (yawn!) and some Theatrical Trailers save the "Carlito's Way" DVD from being lumped together with other forgettable first/second generation DVD's. And this is what Universal calls a 'Collector's Edition' DVD? I don't think so!
bottom line:
Disappointing as a spiritual follow-up to "Scarface"(the 1983 gangster flick that brought Al Pacino, director Brian DePalma and producer Martin Bregman together a decade earlier), "Carlito's Way" is nevertheless a better movie than the overwrought melodrama of Tony Montana's crime flick. Predictable crime drama clichés threaten sink the movie at every turn, but the supporting performances (Guzman, Leguizamo, Mortensen, etc.) and DePalma's patented mastery of the cinematic camera tricks are perfect companions to match Pacino's intense and deeply moving performance. Too bad Universal's Collector's Edition DVD leaves plenty of room for improvements that "Carlito's Way" is unlikely to receive (unlike the aforementioned "Scarface"). Good rental though!
By - J.M. Vargas
