Day 63 - Scarface

Scarface (1983) directed by Brian DePalma

So after admitting yesterday that I've never seen Scarface before, I figured I'd have to watch it now...

It's kind of funny because even though I've never seen Scarface before, I could recite a lot of the lines and knew many of the major plot points. I have seen bits and pieces through clips and random parts on TV, but most of what I know of the film actually comes from rap music. Scarface might be the most influential and most referenced and quoted movie in rap history. So what is it about Tony Montana and not, say, Michael Corleone that inspires rappers? For starters, Tony has a billion quotable lines, while Michael relies on a much more subtle and silent approach. But thematically, while The Godfather is certainly appreciated by the gangster culture, it's not easily accessible. Michael is born into his rich and powerful family and inherits his father's criminal empire. What is a young kid living in the ghetto to think of its message? While you may dream to become Don Corleone, The Godfather doesn't lay down a blueprint in getting there.

Tony Montana on the other hand starts with nothing. (Vito Corleone technically starts with nothing too but the godfather of the mythos is actually Michael.) Tony comes straight off the boat with nothing but the American dream and ends up as the king in a modern day rags to riches story. And he sells lots and lots of drugs. Young kids in the ghetto slinging on the corner can relate to his story and can aspire to reach his level of success.

"Scarface the movie did more than Scarface the rapper to me/ still that ain't to blame for all the shit that happened to me."
-Jay-Z

Tony, like Jay-Z, is a product of his environment, but doesn't make excuses for himself. In fact, he embraces his role as the bad guy. "You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your f*ckin' fingers and say, 'that's the bad guy.'" Okay enough preamble...

Scarface tells the story of Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee (or political prisoner as Tony likes to say), and his rags to riches story as a drug lord in Miami. It shows his humble beginnings as a small bit crook and his rise to prominence. His accession to the top is inevitable, but the interesting aspects of the story come afterwords in how he handles his success. Like seemingly every story of money, power and crime, life is restless at the top. Tony ends up as top boss and gets the girl, the big house, the tiger in his backyard like he always wanted, and all the money he could ever dream of. However, you never get the sense that he's happy. Part of it is because he is too busy doing his gangster thing, but even in quiet moments of reflection, sitting in his fancy chair or alone in his bubble bath in his mansion, he doesn't smile. He sits blankly with an empty stare. He has everything, yet he has nothing.

"Is this it? That's what it's all about, Manny? Eating, drinking, f*cking, sucking? Snorting? Then what? You're 50..."

It's kind of ironic, growing up in and despising communist Cuba, that Tony almost comes to resenting the empty pursuit of money that is capitalism. Not that he would give it all up, but clearly Tony realizes he needs more than that. His mother disowns him, he's afraid of bringing his sister into his world of crime and his wife is a junkie that can't produce a baby. While he proclaims himself as the bad guy, it is actually his humanity, however flawed it may be, that leads to his downfall (how he deals with an assassination that his associates want him to do and to a lesser extent, his reaction to seeing his sister with someone he doesn't approve of, both demonstrating family values). Oh, also...

"Never get high off your own supply." - Elvira Hancock, Notorious B.I.G. and a bunch of other rappers

Brian DePalma is one of the most artistic directors around. It would be pretty easy to just let the story tell itself and it would work, but DePalma goes out of his way to shoot it with his trademark style. One of his signature shots is the long continuous take where the camera weaves back and forth giving a sense of real time and distance. Take for instance the scene where Tony goes up to the motel room to make a drug buy. He tells his men to come in after him if he isn't back in fifteen minutes. When the deal goes sour and Tony is in trouble inside, the camera slowly pans from the motel room on the second floor down and across the street to his guys in the car, then slowly pans back up to the room to give the viewer a sense of just how far away Tony's help is. In a scene in a club where two men are about to try to kill Tony, DePalma creates a lot of suspense with the editing, emphasizing the the machine guns they have hidden under their tables. There are a bunch of little treats sprinkled throughout for those who care to look for such things. (One of my favorite DePalma scenes comes from Carlito's Way in the train station finale.)

Of course you can't talk about Scarface without talking about Al Pacino. It's probably a movie like Scarface where Pacino got his reputation for overacting and it is a little over the top here. But the role of Tony Montana isn't meant to be played subtly. It is an intense role meant to be over the top, flamboyant and larger than life. For as quiet and reserved Al Pacino is in his portrayal of Michael Corleone, he is every bit as fiery and edgy in his role of Tony Montana. You can tell he has a lot of fun here, everything from his scowl to his combination of Cuban and 1930's gangster accent. (In the beginning of the film, Tony tells the immigration officers that he used to watch James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart.) While he does have some hilarious moments, like when he's dancing with Michelle Pfeiffer in the club and when he and Manny talk about picking up women by the poolside, most of the time Tony is intense. While I actually prefer his character of Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, Pacino is pretty incredible in Scarface.

Finally, if there is one complaint I might have about films made in the 1980's it would typically be the music. While I love 80's music, it can really date a film. That heavy synthesized drum (if I'm even describing it correctly) is used in so many films during this time. It sounds okay, but its so distinctive it's almost distracting. I'm just thankful that the film takes place in Miami where the characters dress either in sharp suits or summery outfits because 1980's fashion style can really really date a film.

"So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. Last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again..."

Grade: A