Ages ago, I made a curious discovery: I loved The Godfather but had trouble liking popular movies that resembled it -- even its Part II. When I read the summary of CW, I thought it sounded too close to Part III. Still, I'd had pretty good luck with Brian De Palma, so I gave it a try.
Those who have read the Edwin Torres book by the same title should note that this is actually based more on the literary sequel, After Hours. Here, in 1975, Carlito (Al Pacino) has just finished 5 years in prison but feels great, because he was set to serve another 25 until his friend and lawyer David (Sean Penn) showed that the prosecutor had used illegal evidence. He insists that his days as a Spanish Harlem drug lord are over; he aims to run a decent night club and earn enough money to move to the Caribbean, preferably with his on-and-off girlfriend Gail (Penelope Ann Miller). But while the scene has changed, it's never easy to stay out of trouble when nobody expects you to, and he doesn't feel ready to break away from some crooked friends....
Given De Palma, Pacino, and the Hispanic U.S. crime scene, it's easy to see this as a spiritual successor to Scarface. De Palma almost turned the project down for that reason. Fortunately (IMO), it doesn't come nearly as close to an NC-17 for violence. We get strippers, cocaine, rampant ethnic slurs (particularly for Italian-Americans), and 139 uses of the F-word, but only 13 people die, and not by unusually gory means.
What the writing lacks in originality, it makes up for in skill. That's why De Palma didn't turn it down. Oh, they had to rework a few things, such as who dies and how much slang to allow Luis Guzmán, and John Leguizamo insisted on improvisation, but it's solid stuff. Nothing seems to come out of nowhere, yet there are still surprises. I can even appreciate the off-color humor when a so-called "stand-up" guy (a pre-fame Viggo Mortensen) turns out to be in a wheelchair.
I think one reason I like this film better than many others of its ilk is my sympathy for Carlito in his dilemmas. He tries to do the right things now, but in his circles, that doesn't always yield good results. Every killing he commits (that we see, anyway) is arguably justifiable, but he has no intention of pleading self-defense in a court that hasn't forgotten how he slipped away before. By contrast, David squanders our sympathy by spiraling ever further into the darkness. (Penn sure is good at playing annoying characters. Figures that he was reportedly the hardest actor to work with on this.)
The cinematography certainly helps, with apt timing and difficult tracking shots. De Palma may not direct works as consistently esteemed as Quentin Tarantino's, but I think in his top form, he blows Tarantino away. All the gritty artistry and not half the awkwardness or amorality. My one nitpick is that some moments could do with a dash of subtlety.
The other highlight that comes to mind is the soundtrack. The making-of featurette points out the Latin music, but that actually doesn't dominate the picture. We get plenty of '70s hits that have aged well. Too bad at least four of them didn't exist in '75.
CW got a fair share of naysayers at first; many backtracked over time. I'm glad they did, as otherwise I'd likely have written it off. For where it reaches, it excels.
No comments:
Post a Comment