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Whether many chose to agree with me or not, I'll always think of Carlito's Way as a lot more entertaining and technically superior to the first Brian De Palma/Al Pacino collaboration of ten years earlier -- Scarface. Whereas I did enjoy the latter, the film has been hyped up so much that it seems more prominent in rap songs during the past twenty-something years than the word "motherfucker", and quite frankly I'm sick of hearing about it.

If you've never seen Carlito's Way then I suggest that you pick up a copy sometime soon. Instead of going down the root of political madness, the so called "baby boy" of the De Palma/Pacino films chooses to keep things simple -- and to maximum kinetic effect.

Pacino is the ex-gangster recently released from prison, with a desire to come clean. Everywhere he goes people hail him as "The Great Carlito", and laugh in disbelief about his new ambition to stay on the straight and narrow road. Even his lawyer David Kleinfeld (Sean Penn, sporting a ridiculous, receding afro) jokes about his plans to retire from crime and put his savings into a friend’s rental car business in the Bahamas.

Carlito Brigante is such a likable character, in the sense that he has the vulnerabilities of any "normal" person watching on. He takes up a job in a flashy nightclub to finance his investment, but cannot seem to move forward fully as he feels like he owes his lawyer/friend a favour for getting him out of jail on a legal technicality. Soon enough, he becomes involved with characters such as "Benny Blanco from the Bronx" (John Leguizamo, in a breakthrough performance), who threaten to bring out the most brutal side of his personality once again. Carlito can't escape from his old shadow, and the film builds the fate of the character with a number of small, but effectively powerful scenes.

The first stint of action comes in a backroom pool hall. Carlito finds himself being dragged into a deadly ambush involving his nephew and a group of Puerto Rican drug dealers. The audience finds out here how the ex gangster became so brutally popular throughout the years he spent on the streets before prision. Skilfully managing to set up a trick shot as the basis for his attack, Carlito goes on to decimate the entire room of enemies when he notices the deal is going against his nephew. "You think you're big time? You gonna fuckin' die big time!" he yells, after taking cover in a nearby bathroom.

When Carlito meets ex-girlfriend Gail (Penelope Ann Miller), the film creates an interesting contrast between her lifestyle and that of Kleinfield, the lawyer. Carlito is stuck between the two: He aspires to unite with Gail, and leave his dysfunctional lifestyle; though his lawyer, who has gone from being a mob lawyer to being a mobster himself, is always at the back of his mind. Watching this romantic lament, fuelled with De Palma's sharp cynicism for drugs and violence, is nothing short of fascinating.

Seen as though the film opens with Carlito's inevitable death in black and white, the audience is already aware of what is going to happen at the end. It's a daring choice, but De Palma proves with the electrifying half-hour chase scene just how exciting the story still can be. Narrated by Pacino throughout, it's a testament to the original novels written by Judge Edwin Torres.

Despite its lukewarm reception at the box office, Carlito's Way has developed into a cult classic since it was first release on home video. It may not have the reputation of Scarface, but I truly believe that this is Brian De Palma's best work; it's also my favourite Pacino movie, aside from the first two Godfathers.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.