Nobody plays dark & shady criminals quite like Al Pacino. In "Scarface" he was loud and brash. In "The Godfather" he was cool and smooth, but he's always dangerous.
In CARLITO'S WAY, he's a blend of both, sporting an outrageous Puerto Rican accent like Tony Montana along with the everyday cool demeanor of Michael Corleone.
In Brian de Palma's 1993 thriller, Pacino is Carlito, fresh out of prison and committed to taking a straight path out of crime. Unfortunately for Carlito, he's got the slimiest lawyer in the country in Kleinfeld, a coked up, no limit slimeball brilliantly played by a nearly unrecognizable Sean Penn.
Sporting a kinky perm, big glasses and a hair wire attitude, Penn is excellent as Kleinfeld, dancing across the line between criminal and lawyer with drug & ego fueled madness.
Carlito just wants to make enough cash to escape the country with his girlfriend and run a quiet rental car agency.
And here's where the film runs into a bit of trouble. Carlito's girl Gail is seen in a dance hall studio, you hear about her performing on Broadway and you see a ballet practice, then she turns out to be a pole dancer. I guess, maybe she was both, I never quite figured it out.
The even worse news is that Gail is played by one of the worst actresses of the 80's and 90's, Penelope Ann Miller. She's horrible. I walked out of the movie she made after this, the craptacular 'The Shadow" with Alec Baldwin, so I dont think she got any better.
Her interactions with Pacino are uncomfortable their talent levels are so far apart. It's like having a four year old with training wheels ride next to Lance Armstrong. No matter what you do, that kid is gonna look awkward next to Lance.
Thankfully, Pacino is terrific and Penn is stellar, along with supporting players John Leguizamo as Benny Blanco, Luis Guzman as Pachanga and James Rebhorn as a tireless DA.
Director De Palma turns in one of his best films, with plenty of his signature camera work and tension to drive the story.
The finale between Carlito and all the forces against him converging on Grand Central Station is a killer twenty minute showcase by De Palma of all his best techniques.
Quick cutting, multiple screens at once and a great music score by Patrick Doyle work in perfect sync to deliver one De Palma's great action sequences.
Some of the takes in the train station are amazingly long, weaving in and out of crowds and action in scenes that must have taken weeks to rehearse.
David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Mission Impossible, Spiderman) wrote the interesting screenplay. Other than some corny narration and a somewhat heavy handed flashback framing structure, its sharp and on point.
With a better actress as Gail, this could have been a great film, but its still classic De Palma and deserved a bigger box office audience than it found.
Tune in for Pacino, Penn and De Palma and enjoy the violent, action packed and moody ride. Carlito gets a B.
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