The rise and rise and crash of Tony Montana

Rating: Null/10 (22 August 2003)

This movie falls with considerable ease into the category of being one of the top movies of the Eighties. All facets of the movie were extremely strong. The direction was fantastic, but for me it was the acting of Al Pacino and the script of Oliver Stone that were the attributes of its success. These are the elements without which the allure would have been adversely affected. Given the commendable contribution of the rest, this serves as an indication of the enormous talent of these two.
Scarface' is the name of the movie, and therefore its core focus. Tony Montana is Scarface and the central character in a frontline Hollywood movie always requires a powerful leading man exhibiting charismatic appeal, acting ability or both. Al Pacino is a popular actor whose acting ability graces the big screen. The role of Tony Montana could have been hammed up and appeared contrived, but neither is evident here. Instead we have an authentic portrayal of a Cuban exile that comes from a hard background and finally wants to prove his worth in the free country, America.
Pacino manages to show the unschooled background of Montana without overacting. It was not the result of the Cuban accent he used which limited his grasp of the English language. It was more through his mannerisms. The emotive outbursts are clearly part of the character makeup and show his determination to make the world his own. Although he may be unschooled, he has the street savvy through which the confidence oozes in confrontational situations. Pacino is probably the best at playing the tragic hero. These are usually complex characters that the audience has to support no matter how depraved they are. Montana is a tragic hero because he is doomed from the start. Frank tells him that those who want it all never last was a message that was never heeded. He is also told to never get high on his own supply. These two unheeded messages are the mechanism of his downfall. Montana begins his slide from grace when the bank dealer raises the rates on him. It is from this point on that Pacino shows us how Montana starts to feel like a failure. He begins to want full credit for his success and starts to distance himself from those closest to him. Everybody else becomes a target for blame as Montana fails to take account for the realities of the world and his own failings.
Of significance is that he fells that he cannot escape his depraved nature. The only redeeming factor that he has is a burden because he is all consumed by power. Tony becomes possessive to the extreme. He will not let anyone near Gina since she is like a child to him and the only thing pure in his life. In the end his self  obsession results in all that he cares for doing away with him. His business partners want him out of the picture and his sister turns on him, who snaps under the strain of overbearing control. The tragic hero is about to meet his dire end. Pacino explodes into an inhuman rage as he faces his foes as he is unwilling to accept defeat and to relinquish power - power which he had always wanted  results in a gruesome death under the statue which epitomises the mind- set of Tony Montana  The world is yours to own'. The explosive rise met an explosive end, indicative of the time bomb that he was. It was only a question of time.
Oliver Stone has delivered a script which is in tandem with his style. We have the central character with virtually no redeeming characteristics and as usual a solid message fro the audience. All the supporting cast are inextricably linked to the life of Tony Montana and some issue warnings which he chooses to ignore because of his insatiable thirst for power. Stone shows that there are rules to abide by and a self  obsessed conquest for power will result in the possible loss of all that we care for. We are shown how people are obsessed with material gain as an indication of success in America. Pursuit of the American dream must be done with circumspection and respect for people, no matter how great the appeal of the superficial perception of success. Also of note is that the story flow is unabated and well beyond interesting.
The name of the movie, Scarface', is not used throughout the movie. Its purpose was to serve to illustrate the depravity of Pacino. He cannot escape who he is. He is bad and the scar is indicative that he will not change. The tragic hero's journey is one of doom, and Stone indicates this at many points throughout the story.
The movie starts off with a documentary feel to it. This relates a sense of authenticity and sets us well into the timeline. Although the events are dramatised, this start assists the audience in accepting the hatred that is evident in the movie towards people like Pacino because they degrade the Cuban people and lower the American quality of life. The movie accentuates this affect and creates a sense of human tragedy, tragedy offset by two opposing systems  communism and capitalism.
The supporting cast all deliver excellent performances. Robert Loggia is good as the seemingly weak drug boss from which Pacino derives justification for his path to success. Pfeiffer is believable as the smart wife who may not have full control of herself, but is confident enough to tell it straight, much like Montana. Steven Bauer shows us how a wise guy playboy of Cuban descent should be portrayed. Even though only a small appearance, we can see the talent F. Abraham Murray. He plays the weasel dealer whom no-one can trust and fawns to the big players.
Gangster stories if well crafted sell well to audiences. The appeal of people living on the edge outside of society's acceptable norms, living the high life is conducive to the big screen. They are larger than life and their emotions make for creative character interplay. All this is evident in Scarface. Not all gangster movies have to be about the Mafia and this is the best one outside those oversold stories.