Scarface (18)

With the slew of remakes that come out year upon year, most of which are disappointing, it’s easy to forget there have been some true classics in the remake genre, if there is such a thing.  A reworking of Howard Hawks movie of the same name, Brian De Palma’s story of the Cuban refugee turned crime lord is one of the greatest. It is also arguably one of Pacino’s best roles alongside Michael Corleone and Lt. Vincent Hanna. It’s released again this week for all those, who haven’t witnessed its bright Miami glory and its awful suits.
Scarface plays Tony Montana, released to America from Castro’s Cuba, a man with a hatred of communism and a history of crime looking for his slice of the American dream. Inevitably, Tony’s take on this idea is one of violence, drugs and, as is repeatedly reiterated, owning the biggest balls. Looking to take the world, Tony Montana removes everything in his way to become one of the biggest gangsters in Florida. Like all morality tales though, something nasty is waiting round the corner and Tony must pay the price for his selfish rise to the top.

If you haven’t seen this crime epic it’s safe to assume you’ve heard of it.  . A favourite film of rappers everywhere and a regular fixture in lists of the greatest films of all time, it has integrated into popular culture in a way that ultra-violent films rarely do. This might have something to do with the fact that this is a traditional rags to riches tale, and while some of the corny Americana might have been taken out of it, this is a story which has been told time and time again to great effect. The unusual factor in this tale though comes from the fact that the screenplay was born in the cocaine addled mind of Oliver Stone. Fighting through his own addiction he created this violent reinterpretation of the 1932 classic, which, instead of focussing on the Mafia, as the original did, looked at the immigration problem, which was facing the US. The large Cuban influx to Florida was a concern and Stone adapted it to his own ends.

While the setting of Miami seems integral to the sun drenched feel of the film, the actual location of the filming was L.A. thanks to complaints from the Cuban residents of Florida. They were opposed to Al Pacino’s arrogant, swaggering portrayal of criminality from across the waters. But if you aren’t offended by the over-the-top nature of the performance, it’s one you can easily get lost in. Applying the same level of character acting normally reserved for Robert De Niro, who turned down the role, Pacino becomes Tony perfectly; a seething tower of coke addled rage. But while this is what the character becomes, it’s not the only thing Tony is. The character evolves steadily from his hustler beginnings to the master criminal, as his mental state deteriorates. This is in stark contrast to Pacino’s “shouting phase” most visible in films like Devil’s Advocate where his characters were one dimensional with rage taking over from acting in films which suffered because of it.

The main area in which this film falls short is its glamorisation of Tony’s freewheeling lifestyle, before suddenly and jarringly switching to moral condemnation, as Tony sinks further into his cocaine reliance. Tony is thrown from underdog villainous hero to evil monster before the viewer has a chance to breathe. Michelle Pfeiffer does a good job as Tony’s suffering wife, shrieking indignation, while presenting a character without the necessary social aspects for redemption. But even with impressive performances to demonstrate the change, the film still doesn’t give enough reason for us to change our opinion of the character.  But then the world loves a bad guy.

And as Tony Montana states, we need people like him, someone to point our finger at and acknowledge as the ‘bad guy’. This is evident in the success of recent gangster biopic Public Enemies, the latest in a tradition of films, which show villains with such an enviable lifestyle we can’t help but be enamoured of it, and then tells us why this is wrong. But contradictions will persist and these films will continue to be enjoyed for the sheer thrill of the ride and this is indeed an enjoyable sprawling epic; a near three hours of sex, violence and very gratuitous swearing, which is not for the faint hearted.