A Masterpiece of Melodrama and Ultraviolence

Rating: 10/10 (15 January 2015)

"Say hello to my little friend!" These were the most famous words of Antonio 'Tony' Montana, a man who lived faster and harder than any other. He never backed down, never took anything from anyone, and broke every rule in the business. His ambition and his greed knew no bounds. Through cunning, ruthlessness, and sheer ballsiness, he shot straight to the top, and went out guns blazing. He got everything that was coming to him and more, but he destroyed everything he came into contact with, including himself. Scarface is his story, and it is magnificent.
Al Pacino and director Brian DePalma have truly created one of the most arrogant, vulgar, irredeemable, mutha****s ever to appear on screen. Tony Montana is a man with no conscience, no morals, and no respect for anyone or anything. All that matters to him is what he wants, and how he can get it. He has one of the most explosive tempers I've seen since Raging Bull, and expresses himself mainly through the F-word. I lost count of his F-bombs somewhere after 100, and that was in the first 40 minutes. He's complete loose cannon, a guy who can't make peace or take orders.
But watching his life unfold, revulsion gives way to pity. Yes, pity. Because even though achieves wealth and power beyond his dreams, he never finds happiness. Part of it is that he never allowed himself to be satisfied, never learned to enjoy what he had. His first boss, Frank Lopez, may have been a sleazy double-crossing jerk, but he knew a good thing when he found it. It didn't matter that his operation didn't extend beyond South Florida; he already had enough money that the hard part was finding ways to spend it. He lived the high life, and he loved it.
But not Tony. No matter how much he had, it wasn't enough. There were new territories to conquer, new assets to acquire, and if he stopped to relax he'd fall behind. As far as he was concerned, the world and everything in were coming to him. But even when he had the millions, the mansion, and the biggest distribution system on the east coast, it still wasn't enough. "Is this it?" he asked his friend Manny, "Is this what we worked so hard for?" And deeper than that, Tony simply couldn't relate to or connect his fellow human beings. He had a trophy wife, family, and friends who'd been with him since he was a street hood in Cuba. But he drove away or turned on every one of them. Elvira (Michelle Pfeiffer) was the love of his life, the woman he knew he had to have as his bride. But once he did there was nothing but bickering, short-lived passion, and cocaine. She'd have been better off if she'd stayed with Frank.
And there's his sister Nina. He will do anything to protect her, to point of obsession. No man is good enough for his sister, and so no man will have her. And when he finds her with Manny, his oldest friend and trusted lieutenant, Tony shoots him without even a word. In one instant, with one bullet, he destroys the two most important relationships in his life. Really Tony only loved two things: himself, and the nose candy. Seeing him towards the end, he's like a violent, drug addicted Charles Foster Caine, except that guy died of natural causes.
Not that this is meant as a cerebral biopic. Scarface is one of the most graphic films of the 80's. There are knifings, hangings, a brutal killing with a chainsaw- thankfully off screen- and shootings galore, including the final battle royal at Tony's mansion. This is one of the bloodiest, most powerful shootouts in the annals of cinema. The moments leading up to it are incredible enough, and then comes an absolutely stunning climax of blood and bullets that will completely blow you away. Terentino and Scorsese would be hard pressed to improve on these final moments. If you're even a bit squeamish, stay away. But if you have an extremely high tolerance for language and violence, then by all means see Scarface.