Money, power, women--in that order

Rating: 10/10 (26 August 2019)

Al Pacino's Tony Montana is one of the most iconic movie characters ever. A flamboyant, self-glorifying man whose only purpose in life is to absorb more of the world onto himself. In doing so, he adopts a paranoid, antagonistic attitude--he views himself as a prey in a jungle of predators and his plan is to turn the table on everyone. Is Pacino's greatest performance--Montana feels like a parody of himself.
Like Icarus, Brian De Palma's protagonist rises too fast too soon. His hunger is insatiable. Among the movie's many quotable lines, one which defines his greed more than anything is his conversation with his long-time friend, Manny Ribera (Steven Bauer). Unlike Tony, Manny is happy with being the middle-man in the mob world. Not Tony--he wants "the world chico, and everything in it". This timeless sentence emphasizes his obsession. It basically says the same thing twice because he wants to make it clear. Bluntness is his most well-defined trait. A man who cannot lie. He does not hide from the problems, does not solve them, he destroys them, wipes them from existence.
The first few scenes depicts the more factual elements of the plot. In the early 80's, Fidel Castro briefly allowed inhabitants to leave his country. It was a good way for him to empty his prisons. Among the usual clean citizens, there were also men like Tony Montana. As soon as he is released into the city of Miami, we are exposed to the town's duality. An exotic, neon-sprinkled utopia, but as we get closer to the ground, we are exposed to its rotten core--a drug cartel infested temptation. The score, by the great Giorgio Moroder is yet again, luxurious, denoting a land of opportunity yet one that while offers you all the worldly pleasures in the world, takes away from you everything else.
As Tony makes his way to the top, he works for a local drug lord, Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia). Whereas Tony's friend, Manny, is happy and feels fulfilled to simply be part of the world, Tony never lets his guard down. He is observant, plotting ahead, as he feels like an impenetrable wall, a man who despite the promises given to him by others, only listens to the voice inside his head. "Who do I trust? Me!" When Tony lays his eyes for the first time on Lopez's bored trophy wife Elvira (Michelle Pfeiffer) he repeats again and again that she'll be his (even to her own face) and by his attitude you get the impression he can pull it off as, indeed, he does.
Frank likes to be a mentor to Tony, and so he spills out some beginner's guide to vagabonding lines: "Rule number one: don't underestimate the other guy's greed. Rule number two: don't get high on your own supply". The first rule was never a problem for Tony as he seems to be naturally tense. He is always looking, always watching. Even when he is engaged in business talks, he always looks around him. Paranoia would be a drawback for any person but Brian De Palma created such a convincing criminal underworld that for Tony is more of a positive trait--everyone around him relaxes now and then; he never does and you feel safer for that. The second rule he breaks over and over again. The movie's most powerful scenes come from seeing Tony surrounded by cocaine, alcohol, succumbing to their control.
But there is more. During a heated argument between Tony and Frank, he also warns Tony about making too many moves, He tells him that if he wants to last, he needs to be more tactical. Yet in the end it is not Tony's caustic attitude that ruins him, but his humanity. If you seen the film, you know what I mean-- the scene in which he is sent to assassinate a journalist who's been snooping around is the only time Tony breaks his own rule and lets his guard down, not putting business first. His humanity is also seen as he interacts with his mother and sister especially in one particular homecoming scene. He made it, he tells his mother but she is not impressed and soon he realizes how little "made it" means. In one great scene in a restaurant he rants about the emptiness coming with money, power and women--always in that order. It might be the only scene in which the average Joe can relate as he realizes that all the expectations and eagerness coming with climbing the road to success are gone away once you get to the top and they are replaced with... nothing.
The year was 1983. Brian De Palma created what is arguably the father of all macho action films. This might not be something to brag about but "Scarface" remains a landmark piece of cinema for the way it juggled so many taboos in an era when those taboos were not cliche. It is a nearly three-hour movie in which excess, greed, hatred, ego and violence are increasing at an exponential rate. It closer at a progressively increasing rate to an inevitable end.