I've always loved Carlito's Way-- saw it in the cinema, bought it on VHS when it came out, etc.. I still think that this and Donny Brasco (a film with tons of problems despite Pacino's bighearted performance) are the last two performances of his somewhere in the ballpark between Very Good and Great. It shows that it is Pacino-- vs DeNiro-- who has managed to hold onto himself, and his core vitality, that is based so much on his roots , that made him who and what he is in the world. DeNiro hasn't been able to say such a thing for a long time.
I thought Al's NewYorican (or Nuyorican, as the poet's cafe spells it) accent has some problems, but once you get past it, the film really gets you and keeps you. I also think it features an incredible performance by Sean Penn. It's one of his most ambitious performances, right up there with his early great stuff like The Falcon & The Snowman (love that film).
Rhapsody For An Old School Barrio Boy should be the subtitle. The film really captures the feel of that whole 116th Street area. Interesting trivia-- the elevated Harlem-Hudson tracks under which meets his old partner-in-junk Rolando, is that same Park Avenue intersection where approx 20 years earlier Lumet filmed The Pawnbroker with Rod Steiger.
I think the use of the music in the film is absolutely excellent. My favorite is the poolplaying scene before the ambush of his nephew by the C suppliers, to the sounds of the majesterial
El Watusi by Ray "Hard Hands" Barretto. But there's a lot to love in the film-- I get sucked into it so much, via so much going on there happening during the time and place of my growing up, that I don't even pay attention to the filmmaking style. It's just a very good film that I love watching.
