what 's shocking about " carlito 's way " is how good it is . having gotten a bit of a bad rap for not being a big box office hit like pacino 's previous film , " scent of a woman , " and not having as strong a performance as he did in that one ( he had just won an oscar ) , " carlito 's way " was destined for underrated heaven .
that 's what it is : an underrated gem of a movie .
and what a shame because pacino and de palma both do amazing jobs with it , and turn it into a great piece of a pulpy character study .
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carlito 's way " deals with , well , carlito brigante ( pacino ) , a puerto rican ex - drug kingpin , who gets out of a long jailterm when his coke - addicted , curly - haired lawyer ( sean penn ) points out a legal technicality .
of course , carlito was actually awoken in prison , and has decided to go straight , even if he 's really a crook at heart .
carlito , like barry lyndon , is a man who is trapped by fate at every turn , and ca n't escape into something he is not .
carlito 's attempts at a clean , legal life are thwarted at nearly every turn .
when he first gets out , a friend of his ends up leading him into a big shoot - out , where he has to kill a couple people to survive .
he 's constantly getting bugged by the government to see if he 's doing anything illegal , and his lawyer finds himself neck - deep in a pile of shit , needing him to try and help him out , which includes him doing some prison breaking .
carlito , like ratso rizzo , wants to go to miami ( since , according to film logic , that 's where it 's at ) , but needs some funding .
being a legend , he is quickly able to get a nice job running a big dance club ( this is the 70s , by the way , and since some of this takes place in night clubs , we get to hear all sorts of 70s classics , including several k .
c . and the sunshine band tunes - my personal favorite ) .
he gets a bodyguard ( the great luis guzman , at his best ) , and is soon running a pretty good business , even if he 's constantly attracting underworld young thugs , like benny blanco " from the bronx " ( john leguiziamo ) , who is more than once pointed out to be a young version of carlito .
on the other side , the symbol of promise and hope , is gail ( penelope ann miller - what happened to her ? ) , his girlfriend from before prison .
she 's a goregeous ballerina , and a stripper , and soon carlito is trying to get back with her , and take her with him when he finally leaves for miami .
while this relationship is never fully defined or anything , we get a sense of love between them , and they have some truly interesting scenes between them
( she never gives him addresses or locales - he always has to track her down ) .
all of these elements clash together at the end , in a
brilliantly executed , emotional climax , which is inevitable .
when i say inevitable , i mean we see it at the beginning and then backtrack , putting a great spin on it .
sure , it 's going to eleveate some of the tension , but it gives the film a lot of depth , as carlito is seen trapped by fate .
what 's amazing is the big chase sequence ( amazingly done by de palma )
has a lot of tension and thrills .
like " apollo 13 , " we know what 's going to happen , but we 're still thrilled by what happens in the middle .
it 's also very emotional ,
thanks to a great script by david koepp , and amazing performances by pacino and miller .
de palma is famous ( or infamous ) for lots of violence in his films .
his earlier flim , " scarface " ( which starred pacino in the lead ) , has a ton of it , especially at the end ( and a nasty chainsaw scene towards the beginning which
i 'm still not over ) .
but de palma actually reigns in more quieter scenes .
to me , the best scene in the film is when carlito is on top of a building , looking down into the room where gail is doing ballet .
this is the most brilliantly done , and most emotionally stimulating scene in the entire film , and probably the best in de palma film history .
with a gorgeous soprano duet in the background , and rain pouring down onto a trashcan lid covering carlito 's head , and a saddened , remorseful look on pacino 's face , it 's a tear - jerker ( well , for me , i dunno about you . . . ) .
the acting from all is great , especially from the three leads .
pacino was panned for his performance , chiefly because his accent was n't puerto rican enough and , well , it was n't as " strong " as his oscar - winning role in " scent of a woman .
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well , his " scent of a woman " performance was great and all , but it was nothing really but , as comic kevin pollack said , a " foghorn leghorn impression .
" in " carlito 's way , " he 's emotional , and strong , despite the fact that he 's remorseful over his entire lifestyle , which he can not change .
i felt more for carlito brigante than i did for the tango - dancing , insult - throwing blind guy in " scent of a woman .
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as i said , penelope ann miller is great , and she and pacino actually have very good chemistry .
and they 're
scenes are well - written , with some good clever dialogue which adds some interest to an otherwise bland relationship . and sean penn is amazing as the coke - addicted rat attorney .
every scene he 's in ,
he has great energy , and even measures up to the greatness that is pacino .
in smaller roles , john leguiziamo and luis guzman are great .
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carlito 's way " is one of those films which you heard about briefly , but when you finally watch it , you 're absolutely blown away .
it 's a wonderful film , a highly underrated little masterpiece which was shelved after it did n't do so hot .
but trust me and check it out .
it 's a great little film , and proof that the residential critics and mass populus are not always right .
Output: P