Carlito’s Way, a film by Brian De Palma, stars Al Pacino alongside Sean Penn, with a minor role played to great effect by Viggo Mortensen, and another played exactly to expectation by Luis Guzmán, whose character here doubles as Maurice Rodriguez in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 masterwork, Boogie Nights. The influence of Scorsese, specifically his use of tracking shots (one of course thinks of his legendary Copacabana entrance shot, the one that dutifully follows Liotta and Bracco as they wind their way through the kitchen and then the club itself), is tangible in the film. GoodFellas specifically, which was first exhibited three years prior to the release of Carlito’s Way, seems indelibly struck into the mind and imagination of De Palma - which is good if one is interested in making a good picture, bad if originality is a priority in said endeavor. The movement of the camera, which is superb when it follows the action in Carlito Brigante’s (Pacino) club El Paraiso - action that takes place in differing corners of the club and on different floors - is both reminiscent of Scorsese and nonetheless an effective technique, entrancing and sophisticated. The choreography of the players as they move about the camera, entering and exiting the frame indiscriminately, again recalls the the vast quantity of characters populating a film like GoodFellas and their propensity to disappear as quickly as they’ve made themselves known. However, it must be noted that use of this device is executed with greater artistry by Scorsese, as one feels irresistibly compelled towards even the most minor of his characters, while many of those in Carlito’s Way convey a lack of both depth and mystique.
The use of voiceover is prevalent throughout the film, as Brigante serves as a guide in many ways, a narrator for the action, much like Henry Hill in GoodFellas. The extant difference here seems to be its effectiveness; Henry Hill’s narration undeniably adds an element to the film, and his explication of the gangster underground he’s become a part of -and of his personal development-, adds a captivating layer to the work, he is in many ways a conductor. Whereas with Carlito’s Way, Brigante’s narration seems tired and contrived, Pacino’s voiceover lacking much inflection or expressiveness. It seems that Scorsese was simply more masterful in his use of voiceover, orchestrating an arresting montage to accompany the narration, images that were attractive and significant in the context of the film. De Palma, unfortunately, decides to linger aimlessly on the bearded face of Brigante, whilst we’re forced to listen to an account of something or another listlessly delivered by Pacino - in Carlito’s Way, I found I would have rather just been shown the content explored in the narration, while with GoodFellas, the words accentuated the scenes we were confronted with.
Additionally, the use of music must be discussed. It is appropriate and evocative during the scenes shot in El Paraiso but, like during the two encounters we’re presented with between Brigante and Gail in their apartments, De Palma opts for a ridiculously sentimental and melodramatic score, one that undermines the seriousness of the action and proves distracting. The featured song, “You Are So Beautiful,” performed by Joe Cocker, is, in its own right, a poignant and expressive work. However, it seems poorly applied in the film, an ill-fitting accompaniment to the action and the story.
In all, the film’s most perceptible attribute seems to be the degree to which it appears derivative of Scorsese and his GoodFellas, not to mention the appropriation of numerous elements of De Palma’s 1983 epic, Scarface. It is certainly an ambitious film, if to a large extent only executed with mediocrity, and that would normally be more of a saving grace, were it not an ambitious exercise in Scorsese.
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