One of the interesting things about film is
its capacity to become something of a snapshot for any given
time and place. As much as films try to defy becoming dated,
they will inevitably become just that.
Looking back at the films of the 1980s, if
I had to pick one that exemplified the excess, greed and reckless
abandon that marred that decade, Scarface would be it. While
there are certainly some high points from the 80s, Scarface
represents everything that was reprehensible about those years.
The film celebrates a twisted notion of the American dream that
was (and to some extent still is) a reality for many in this
country.
The anti-hero of Scarface is Tony Montanta
(Al Pacino). Montana is one of many Cuban criminals released
from prison and sent to immigrate to the United States as backlash
punishment by Fidel Castro. Montana arrives with nothing but
the clothes on his back and very few skills that don't involve
breaking the law.
With little else to do with the massive influx
of immigrants, the US ships them off to refugee camps, which
are little better than open air prisons, complete with barbed
wire and armed guards. As Montana is being shipped off to one
such camp, he poignantly points out that there is nothing we
can do to him here that Castro didn't already do to him first.
It doesn't take long for Montana for find
his way out of the camp. With the help of his friend Manuel
Ray (Steven Bauer), he assassinates a political immigrant in
the camp, earning a favor that results in a green card and a
job in Miami.
Once in Miami, Montana joins a crime organization
and cocain empire run by Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia) and he
quickly begins to work his way up the ranks. The more power
and prestige Montana gains within the organization, the more
he wants to take. For him, it is always about having the most
and being on top and he's willing to do anything necessary to
get his way -- even murder friends and colleagues. The lesson
of greed that Montanta can only learn the hard way is that once
you reach the top, the only place to go from there is down.
Scarface may be a film that defines the greed
of the 80s, but it is also a film that is defined by its violence.
Montana's philosophy seems to be, why settle a dispute with
words when bullets speak much more clearly? In fact, the extensive
violence and prolific swearing (at the time it held the record
for the most uses of the f-word) very nearly earned the film
an X rating.
And yet, the violence in the film, though
extreme, is never gratuitous. The violence is simply a part
of the world these guys live in and not including it would be
like trying to tell a race car story without ever showing a
race. The violence is never glorified and it ultimately costs
Montana his friends, family and, frankly, everything else.
Of course, the biggest thing about this movie
is the performance by Al Pacino. He inhabits this character
so thoroughly that he vanishes from the screen and only Montana
remains. He carries the film so completely that even watching
F. Murray Abraham and Robert Loggia fumble through their hispanic
accents is forgivable.
Scarface was directed by Brian De Palma and
it may be second only to The Untouchables as the director's
best work. The screenplay is by Oliver Stone and while it may
not have the snap of Wallstreet or Platoon, it certainly ranks
as one of his best -- despite the fact that it was reportedly
written while Stone was battling his own cocain addiction.
Scarface is a tragedy through and through,
it's a film of power, greed, money, sex and the misguided pursuit
of the American Dream. Tony Montana is a character that defies
sympathy. We aren't supposed to like him. We're supposed to
watch him with morbid fascination as he slowly self-destructs.
