Scarface

“The only thing that gives orders in this world is balls.” Perhaps one the most blunt and realistic quote I have ever come across in all the films that I’ve seen. If you talk about crime thrillers and drama, especially in the 70’s and 80’s era of Hollywood, there are dome serious contenders debatable for the best crime or gangster film, with the likes of The Godfather series, The Perfect Crime, Killer Cop, The Phantom of Hollywood and many more. But today, we’re going to talk about a film that deserves a special place in our hearts, a film which made Al Pacino what he is, we’ll talk about Scarface.

Scarface is a 1983 crime drama, directed by Brian De Palma and starring Al Pacino (Tony Montana), Michelle Pfeiffer (Elvira Hancock) and Steven Bauer (Manny Ribera) in the lead roles. The story of Scarface revolves around the life of Tony Montana who is a Cuban refugee who gets into the US hotspot of Miami with a green card in exchange of assassinating a Cuban government official. The character of Tony is a hard-spoken, edgy and determined mid-aged man who has a dream of ruling the world, and being at the top of everything. He has guts to pull off a crime and take big strides with every work that he gets himself into, or as we say, doesn’t waste his time in playing in the small fields of crime, and interesting fact, this character is loosely based on the notorious mafia Al Capone.

The film is set in the early 80’s of Miami, where the US government allowed immigrants from Cuba to settle in the United States, and that’s where the whole plot of drug mafia began. Tony and Manny get a job from an existing drug lord, Frank Lopez, who entrusts Tony with his business of smuggling drugs into US. Meanwhile, he also falls for Frank’s sweetheart, Elvira, who is a drug addict, and restrains from Tony, atleast at the beginning. The story takes a sharp turn when Tony engages in a deal with Alejandro Sosa and takes over the mantle from Lopez’s right hand Omar. With that, Tony’s urge for power, money and love is unmatched and he shall go to any extent to make sure he gets what comes his way. It is also interesting to note that he has a younger sister, Gina for whom he is overly protective.

So how does Tony prove his worth in drug mafia and gets his way out of every situation with his greed and quest for being at the “top of the world”? Well, all i can say is that Tony, though with all his mischievous attitude and rigidness, has a clear approach to whatever he does, and also has a strong policy of not hurting women and children. That being said, the fate lies in the hands of his ill practices.

Watch it for the performances, the entire cast has played their parts really well, except a few unnoticeable ones. The score is typical 80’s Hollywood and the shots of Miami and the entire vibe of Florida are captured well. The gut wrenching and blood thirsty sequences are brilliantly portrayed and the character arcs of Tony, Elvira, Gina and Manny are shown pretty well. Although, i would have preferred some details into the life of Manny, Tony’s partner and best friend. But overall, don’t miss out on this masterpiece.