Movie: "Carlito's Way" (1993)

Finally!
A friend of mine has always talked about this film. "What, you havn't seen it.. yet?!?". So, now I finally have. It was really good too. A romantic mob story, to sum it up.

It's about Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino), who due to technicalities is released from prison after serving only five years, when the sentence read thirty years. Not even the judge seems happy about the descision he's forced to take - of letting Brigante go. However, "Charlie" has no plans of going back on the wild side. He's got a plan. He's going to hook up with another hasbeen, who is now [successfully] renting out cars over at Paradise (The Bahamas). This is Carlito's new dream. He only needs to raise 75 big ones, then he's off. He has the fortunate luck to be offered a job, to run a local club, since the real owner is up to his shoulders in debt to guys you don't wanna get busy with. So, pure layback, right?

Also, Carlito hooks up with the lady [whom he unfortunately had gone back on his word to; by getting put behind bars] of his past, Gail. All he wants is to raise the money so he can take Gail and get the hell out of New York. Another messy ingredient is his laywer, David "Dave" Kleinfeld (Sean Penn), who has more and more wondered over to the wild side, from only being legal expert for all these wiseguys, he's now up to his ears in coke and bullshit. So, by some soft reason Carlito finds himself sort of in debt to Dave, so he runs a sideline in which he tries to help Dave out of trouble. No good, no good.

The film was truly amazing, really good in all aspects. I read in some paper about that "you can never be Mr. Romance if you havn't seen Legends of the Fall". Well, I doubt that. My belief is that you can never be Mr. Romance if you havn't partaken in the scene where Al Pacino rumbles the door out of lust. That's(!) really something.

8/10 (the 7 to 8 stars jump comes from Pacino's brilliant story-telling from behind the curtains)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106519/
http://www.martin-scorsese.net/henancius/carlito/