“Favor Gonna Kill You Faster Than a Bullet”: Carlito’s Way at 30

Brian De Palma’s deeply moving morality tale Carlito’s Way (1993) recently had its thirtieth anniversary. The film has long held a special place in my personal movie pantheon, ever since seeing it opening night, November 12, 1993. Based on two novels by New York State Supreme Court Judge Edwin Torres (which I’ve read and highly recommend), Carlito’s Way tells the story of Nuyorican ex-gangster Carlito Brigante in 1970s New York City. Fresh out of prison at the start of the film—and “completely rehabilitated, reinvigorated, reassimilated and finally going to be relocated”—Brigante embarks on a redemption mission of sorts, as he attempts to avoid the temptations of his past life and go straight. Carlito is just trying to save enough money to leave New York City behind for good, and retire to paradise in the Caribbean. This being a De Palma crime epic though, things don’t quite go to plan for Carlito, and it’s through that tension between his dreams and his reality that Carlito’s Way packs a powerful punch, even thirty years after its release.

It’s a beautiful and hauntingly human story about seeking salvation while trying to remain true to one’s principles—in Carlito’s case that means being loyal to the attorney who got him out of prison early on a technicality. Ultimately, this loyalty proves to be Carlito’s undoing, and his plans for paradise unravel. Will he actually escape to paradise by film’s end, or will he only do so in his dreams?

Released to middling reviews and lukewarm box office in 1993, Carlito’s Way has only grown in stature since. Long overshadowed by De Palma’s other Latino gangster film—the bombastic cult classic Scarface—Carlito’s Way has seen a major critical reevaluation over the years, eventually taking its rightful seat alongside the director’s best work.

I was an early convert—since opening night, November 1993, remember—so the initial lackluster response baffled me. I sat positively enraptured by the film’s majesty. The uniformly great performances hooked me, of course, including Al Pacino imbuing Carlito with a soulfulness that makes him endearingly likable, even as he’s allowing his dirty lawyer to suck him back in to a life of crime. Sean Penn is almost unrecognizable as attorney David Kleinfeld, giving a truly great performance that deserved awards recognition. Penelope Ann Miller as Gail shares some sweet and steamy scenes with Pacino. We feel for Gail, as Miller makes us believe just how hopelessly in love she is with “Charlie,” as she calls Carlito. John Leguizamo, Luis Guzmán, and Viggo Mortensen, among many others, turn in wonderfully memorable supporting work.

Carlito’s Way tells a relatable human story about redemption, loyalty, and how poor choices can deny our dreams, all set against the backdrop of New York in the gritty 1970s. Thirty years on, it remains as moving and exhilarating as it did when I saw it on opening night in 1993.