An Intense, Gripping Piece of Art

Rating: 8/10 (25 July 2016)

4 out of 5 Stars Contrary to popular opinion, there were a lot of good eighties films. This is one of the best. DePalma's three-hour-long epic about a Cuban outlaw who comes to the United States and becomes a fearsome drug kingpin is one of the most stark, haunting, and rich cinematic experiences of the decade. While not without flaws, it is a towering cinematic achievement, filled with vivid imagery, spectacular acting, and a raw intensity that was extremely rare then and was extremely rare now.
The eighties are my least favorite decade in modern history, and a lot of its films reflect its worst qualities. They are trite, overblown, and senseless. They prefer artifice over truth, and often attempt to sell artifice as truth. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were made by robots that are trying to understand human emotions. Rampant commercialism and an inability to connect with their audience- or people in general- ruin many of these films. A lot of eighties films are lack a metallic plant: "Oh, you liked this organic, lush sprout? Here, let us make one for you but take out all the lushness and organicness you liked about it. There. Aren't you happy?" What the great eighties movies, whether they be dramatic or comedic, have in common is that they deal with the grandiosity of the decade. Back to the Future and Ferris Bueller's Day Off both ride that grandiosity for all it's worth. You feel like you're getting away with something when you watch them. It's fantastic. On the other hand, a film like Heathers goes right at the excess and insanity, providing something of an antidote to it. Then there is the third option: rip that grandiosity off the tracks and show its horrendous underbelly. That is what this film does.
This a film that could only have been made in the eighties. Nowadays, filmmakers take a different approach to portraying the excess of the eighties- see The Wolf of Wall Street. But in this film, the tragedy of 80's excess is shown in that same level of 80's excess. While this could have played to the film's detriment, it ends up creating a deeper and more believable world. It plays better now than it does back then. The opulence Tony- our protagonist- surrounds himself in during the third act of the tale is more surreal and arcane than it was back then. A modern filmmaker can attempt to replicate the insanity, but it would be a conscious decision and thus would not flow as well into the fabric of the film.
It helps that this film was made by two of the most fundamentally 80's filmmakers in existence: I already mentioned DePalma, but this film was written by Oliver Stone. Both men have of course made films outside the 80's, but they were at their best in the 80's, are distinctly remembered for the films they created in the eighties, and represented many of the highs and lows of the eighties.
The action is strong, particularly in the famous final scene, and the acting is good, though not great. There are a few pacing problems, though I appreciate the film's scale. The character work is shoddy, but the narrative is well written. The cinematography, music, and style of the film are exemplary. The combination of shadows and long shots with bursts of violence evoked the image of a predator stalking their terrain.
While not the greatest work in its genre, Scarface not only remains a tremendously influential film, but an intense, unsettling, thoroughly entertaining film. I duly recommend it.