Carlito's Way

Ten years after Scarface, Al Pacino and director Brian De Palma reunited for another crime-doesn't-pay drama. Pacino plays Puerto Rican hoodlum Carlito Brigante, who's sprung from jail by his lawyer Sean Penn and is determined to go straight. But Penn, who fancies himself as a gangster, scoffs at the idea, and when Pacino meets up with his old acquaintances, he's soon back in trouble. Combined with regular scriptwriter David Koepp's smart and funny script, De Palma's visual flair comes into its own in the seedy clubs and backstreet dives of New York. The set pieces — a pool-room fight, a 15-minute subway chase and shenanigans on a train-station escalator — are among the most thrilling De Palma has ever filmed, while Pacino's restrained performance as the leather-clad, gently lisping Carlito allows plenty of scope for the supporting cast to chew the scenery.

"...Rich with irony and keen in its attention to detail. Handsomely made, expertly directed and colorfully acted....Brian De Palma is in top form with CARLITO'S WAY..."