The disco features hottie hostess Steffie (Ingrid Rogers), who attracts the attention of ambitious gangster Benny Blanco from the Bronx (John Leguizamo). Benny is dissed by Carlito, and bears a grudge. Carlito also gets in trouble with District Attorney Norwalk (James Rebhorn), who suspects Carlito has returned to dealing narcotics.
Carlito's problems increase further when Kleinfeld becomes unstable, and involves Carlito in a prison break involving Mafia kingpin Tony Talialucci (Frank Minucci). The prison break goes badly, and now Tony's homicidal son Vinnie (Joseph Siravo) seeks revenge.
Problems abound for Carlito, who just wants to move to a tropical paradise and run a rental car outfit. Can he get there before his troubles catch up with him?
Penelope Ann Miller plays Carlito's beautiful girlfriend, Gail. Luis Guzman plays Carlito's gregarious bodyguard. Viggo Mortensen has a cameo as an ex-con confined to a wheelchair.
How others will see it. This film has quite a bit going for it. The story, with its suspense and bursts of extreme violence, is well suited to the style of director Brian De Palma. The cast has two A-list actors, Pacino and Penn, and they are ably supported. The script is pretty good too. Crime dramas are a popular genre, and all that holds the film back is the sense of already covered ground. The ex-con who wants to go straight but the street pulls him back in. How many times has that been done?
How I felt about it. It's been done a lot, but the theme works nonetheless. Hitchcock resorted to his "wrong man" murder plots over and over again, and made several great films while doing so. A theme doesn't have to be original. It is more important that it is well executed. Which is the case here.
Pacino has two big action scenes. In each of them, he outwits and kills a slew of gangsters. These scenes are slightly unconvincing (he shoots several while lying prone on his back, after they've shot at him first) but they are suspenseful nonetheless. More importantly, we are cheering for him, even though the Italians (at least) are in the right.
More curious is Pacino's behavior toward Benny Blanco from the Bronx. It's just good business to let a lavish spender frequent your club, and why make enemies for no good reason? Because someone is a small-time hood is not a good reason. After all, what is Carlito? He can't even scrounge up 75K.
Carlito may want to go straight, but he can't, because he makes the wrong decisions. He plays bodyguard for his cousin on a drug deal. He goes into the nightclub business with a coke fiend and a hopeless gambler. The nightclub is frequented by gangsters who want Carlito to go in with him. Finally, he agrees to participate in a prison break with Kleinfeld, by then known to be unstable.
Even his girlfriend Gail encourages him to make wrong decisions. He comes to her apartment, but she won't let him in. Instead, she teases him into breaking the door down. It may be cinematic, but it is romantic only in a "punish me" sort of fashion. If your dream is in the Bahamas, get set there first and then come back for the hottie. It's simpler that way, and it makes it harder for your bodyguard to double-cross you.