I'm shocked to see this film so well-reviewed, but seeing all the thumbs up on this site I do have to acknowledge the good points in "Carlito's Way". It's true that Pacino and Penn are two of the best American film actors ever, and their work in this film, as well as DePalma's effort as Director, does deserve praise.
Latter day fans of the actors, or fans of Scarface, will see something of a reversal for Penn and Pacino - Pacino is simmering and reserved (complicated in a word, like many of Penn's pre- and post- "Fast Times" roles), and Penn is the bombastic psycho, a la Pacino's Tony Montana. And DePalma shows his technical and visual expertise, and deft handling of underlying violence, tension, and suspense, in many of the scenes mentioned in other reviews.
But part of the reason the three principals here merit some applause, is that the script for this film is awful. It is paint-by-numbers without a shred of humor or irony.
Pacino's "Puerto Rican" accent is unbelievably bad, as if he were mocking his own role, or if the text of the script were so bad he felt a need to mangle his own delivery. It's even worse than his Cuban accent in Scarface, without the cartoonish humor. Tony Montana couldn't even speak his few Spanish lines convincingly. Carlito sounds like a Cajun with bad gas, not a Puertorriqueño.
Also, while I agree with other reviewers that Pacino's physical look in this film makes a big contribution (Penn's even more so), I have never met a Puerto Rican who looked as white as Pacino. Rick Aviles is Puerto Rican. John Leguizamo is half Puerto Rican. Pacino? Not remotely.
This flaw is made worse by Pacino's voice over narration - one of my least favorite devices in cinema. The narration is so horribly written, it must have been added after the original cut. On occasion, narration is thus added to a completed film as an afterthought, where the original cut otherwise might seem confusing or incomplete, or to novel adaptations (like this one), to make up for the lack of illuminating backstory or detail. In "Carlito's Way", it's simply unnecessary and annoying. The film would have been shorter and better without it.
I also agree with other reviewers that the very "True" romance between Pacino and Penelope Ann Miller is a departure from other Pacino gangster films, where his character is too unflappable or monomaniacal to be involved in and motivated by any such relationship. And the premise of two lovers who have been tragically separated - and shed some of their narcissism in the process - is compelling. But the pair's actual performances as lovers are childish and irritating. I agree with an earlier review here that the mock rape scene is so ridiculous that it's a chore simply to sit through it.
To sum up, the whole cast and the director are excellent, but the script is garbage. Such a combo worked a lot better in "King of New York", a far less ambitious film, but one that is more watchable than this one because it sticks to its strengths.
Latter day fans of the actors, or fans of Scarface, will see something of a reversal for Penn and Pacino - Pacino is simmering and reserved (complicated in a word, like many of Penn's pre- and post- "Fast Times" roles), and Penn is the bombastic psycho, a la Pacino's Tony Montana. And DePalma shows his technical and visual expertise, and deft handling of underlying violence, tension, and suspense, in many of the scenes mentioned in other reviews.
But part of the reason the three principals here merit some applause, is that the script for this film is awful. It is paint-by-numbers without a shred of humor or irony.
Pacino's "Puerto Rican" accent is unbelievably bad, as if he were mocking his own role, or if the text of the script were so bad he felt a need to mangle his own delivery. It's even worse than his Cuban accent in Scarface, without the cartoonish humor. Tony Montana couldn't even speak his few Spanish lines convincingly. Carlito sounds like a Cajun with bad gas, not a Puertorriqueño.
Also, while I agree with other reviewers that Pacino's physical look in this film makes a big contribution (Penn's even more so), I have never met a Puerto Rican who looked as white as Pacino. Rick Aviles is Puerto Rican. John Leguizamo is half Puerto Rican. Pacino? Not remotely.
This flaw is made worse by Pacino's voice over narration - one of my least favorite devices in cinema. The narration is so horribly written, it must have been added after the original cut. On occasion, narration is thus added to a completed film as an afterthought, where the original cut otherwise might seem confusing or incomplete, or to novel adaptations (like this one), to make up for the lack of illuminating backstory or detail. In "Carlito's Way", it's simply unnecessary and annoying. The film would have been shorter and better without it.
I also agree with other reviewers that the very "True" romance between Pacino and Penelope Ann Miller is a departure from other Pacino gangster films, where his character is too unflappable or monomaniacal to be involved in and motivated by any such relationship. And the premise of two lovers who have been tragically separated - and shed some of their narcissism in the process - is compelling. But the pair's actual performances as lovers are childish and irritating. I agree with an earlier review here that the mock rape scene is so ridiculous that it's a chore simply to sit through it.
To sum up, the whole cast and the director are excellent, but the script is garbage. Such a combo worked a lot better in "King of New York", a far less ambitious film, but one that is more watchable than this one because it sticks to its strengths.