2012
Formats
HDTV
Premise
Al Pacino stars as a former convict who tries to leave his criminal world.
Liked
Performances, deep cast, well-drawn characters.
Thoughts
You know what? I liked this way better than Scarface.
Pacino was fantastic here. Not only was he charming and believable, he effortlessly portrayed a man at crossroads; someone who's age is catching up to him, but still has just enough in the tank to do what's violently necessary.
The cast ensemble was strong, including Penelope Ann Miller, John Leguizamo, Viggo Mortenson, James Rehborn, and Luis Guzman. All got some smartly-written parts and knocked them out of the park. I especially liked Penelope Ann Miller's role, as Pacino's weary love interest.
Nearly stealing the show was the great Sean Penn. First, from his awesome Jew-fro. Then from his interesting character as a childhood friend who his entire life on the sidelines and thinks he can immediately play the game.
I've had issues with director Brian de Palma's too-flashy style in the past. Here, he did a great job of minimizing his fancy camera tricks, saving them up for the perfect moments of emotion or intensity. Best examples were his breathtaking, elaborate, one-take shots of the gurney scene and chase through New York metro. The film did a good job of building suspense in individual scenes, as well Pacino's gradually cornering himself into tighter/more dangerous spots. Props to writer David Koepp for contributing to the excellent pacing and story structure.
Normally, I'm not a big fan of voice-over narration. Here, it works decently well. The film makers don't overuse it, and it helped paint a bigger picture of Pacino's character's past and insights.
The gangster story was nothing new, and in fact, the film started with Pacino dying. There are some predictable moments and arcs, but the execution, acting, and character depth made it forgivable. For Carlito's Way, you know what kind of ride it is, so just sit back (sorta) and enjoy the ride.
