"You remember me? Bennie Blanco from the Bronx."

There are so many things in "Carlito's Way" that we have seen before. First off, it's a crime film. Second, it has Al Pacino as a gangster. It's directed by Brian DePalma, who has one of the most recognizable styles in the world aside from John Woo, and it's that classic story of a criminal "trying to go straight". Yet, through the power of its performers, the intelligent script, and possibly DePalma's best directing it comes off as a great film.

Pacino is Carlito Brigante, a legendary Puerto Rican gangster, released from prison on a technicality, and intent on going straight. But he simply can't. The script and direction create the best set of circumstances I've watched of how hard it is for a criminal to go straight and how it truly is impossible for Carlito Brigante. He tries to do the right thing, he gets in trouble. He tries to avoid trouble, it finds him. It is truly a hopeless situation for him, and the film strength comes from how painful it is for us as an audience to se everything unfold just as we predicted.

I really see this movie as a tragedy. It has action, it has criminal intrigue, but it is a tragedy. From the opening in which we see Brigante shot down, the tone is set. We see the sad, hopeless journey that Brigante takes and the uphill battle he fights. He foreshadows his own problems. He makes decisions that he knows could come back to haunt him, and they do. He gets dragged into situations out of a feeling of honor and loyalty, only to find that those people he was loyal to are stabbing him in the back. We can see everything coming and can't do a thing about it. DePalma drags out the action, giving us a glimmer of hope that everything will work out, only to show what we saw coming all along.

And Pacino plays it perfectly. Brigante is a man wrestling with himself. He's a former criminal, he still knows the street. But he came from a time where there was a certain degree of honor and loyalty. His new world doesn't have that, and he is eaten alive. He can't play in this new arena, even though he knows he must to survive. The desperation and frustration he feels are perfectly played by Pacino. It is one of his most controlled performances, bottling that rage that he usually lets out in screaming and creating a really complete character. More than usual he melts into character, adopting a great accent and body language uncommon to him.

DePalma's direction is perhaps his best. His style doesn't seem so out of place and intentionally clever. The slow-motions make sense, as do the close-ups, etc. And he gives the film a feeling, a personality, that really grips you and makes you care about all involved. My only complaint would be the final shootout, a more high-tech version of the famous "Untouchables" shootout at the subway stairs. You can call it a nod to film buff, but it struck me as a little too much.

"Carlito's Way" is a different kind of crime film, and one that is often forgotten when talking about Pacino and good mob dramas. The story moves along and comes full circle, becoming a really tragic and compelling film.