Verdict:
When Al Pacino played a Cuban immigrant in the movie Scarface, I believed he was from Cuba. In this movie he is supposed to be a Puerto Rican gangster, but frankly, what I see is an older white man who’s trying to walk cool and he only looks whiter because of the black clothing and dark glasses he is wearing.
The believability of characters suffers further due to their actions and the mood that this movie picks. Al Pacino’s character, for example, is charming to the max and never does anything evil or at least undeserved, but he is also supposed to be a hardened criminal. His love interest, played by Penelope Ann Miller, and by extension their whole relationship, is not believable, because the narrative presented should result in her hating this guy, or at the very least have a very complicated attitude towards him, but instead, the relationship plays out like a fairytale.
At one point in this movie, during a heartfelt moment, I started hearing a high-pitched piano melody you would normally hear in a romantic comedy. This light mood is strange because there is some pretty violent stuff happening on occasion. And the main theme of this movie is the inability to escape. The feeling should be soul crushing, not playful and pulpy.
One of the best things about this movie, though it takes a while to pay off, is Sean Penn as the shady lawyer. This performance is proof of his range. Seeing him as this nervous slithering pair of round glasses with curly hair is amazing, considering the other roles he has played.
The storyline is fairly transparent. A criminal is trying to retire but the world won’t let him. Just when he thought he was out, they pull him back in. I don’t know how many people made that reference to Godfather 3, which stars Al Pacino and has a similar premise, but the point is that the story is nothing special. It’s another gangster movie.
But it is an entertaining gangster movie. It flows well. It has a style it’s bravely sticking with. It is well shot, with crispy visuals and a lot of shine and colour. It reminds me of a shiny 80s blues or jazz record. Despite the sad ending, it is a bright gangster movie, if there was ever such a thing, and it grows on you towards the end. Carlito’s Way is alright. The hype around this film, though, is a little puzzling.