Movies - Carlito's Way

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	Movies - Carlito's Way

Carlito's Way is a 1993 gangster film based on the novels Carlito's Way and After Hours by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp and directed by Brian DePalma. It stars Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, John Leguizamo and Viggo Mortensen. The movie's soundtrack, "I Love Music", was performed by Rozalla.

In 1975, Judge Torres wrote Carlito’s Way and its sequel After Hours, which follow the exploits of Carlito Brigante, a fictional Puerto Rican drug dealer and hustler who goes to prison and struggles to go straight after his release. The 1993 film is based on After Hours (it used the title of the first novel to avoid being confused with Martin Scorsese's 1985 film After Hours) and focuses on Carlito's endeavours once he is released from prison with the help of his lawyer.

Plot

The film starts out with Carlito (Al Pacino) being released from prison after five years. The movie progresses to Carlito telling former friends that he is "retired" from the drug business and has no intention of returning. In-spite of his sincere desire to reform, he is drawn into violence as his cousin is killed during a drug deal gone wrong and Carlito ends up having to shoot his way out of circumstances that he was seeking to avoid. As fortune has it though, following the shoot-out, he ends up finding enough money at the scene to buy into a nightclub owned by a gambling addict named 'Saso' who needs investors to avoid getting 'whacked' on account of his massive gambling debts. Ultimately, Carlito wishes to seek out his former love Gail (Penelope Ann Miller) and try to rekindle his relationship with her, which turns out to be somewhat successful. As the film progresses, Carlito continues to work towards making $75,000 in order to take up his friend's offer to join him in the car rental business in the Bahamas. Carlito tries to avoid trouble, but due to his 'legacy' as a former big shot in the world of drugs and violence, he cannot prevent a confrontation with an up and comer named Benny Blanco (played by John Leguizamo) who reminds Carlito of himself as a younger man. This fateful encounter ends with Blanco being severely beaten, but not murdered as Carlito no longer wishes to kill others even if it might mean risking his own life. In addition, Carlito learns that he is being tracked by the FBI when he realizes that a former friend (played by Viggo Mortensen) was sent by the Feds to get him to confess to any criminal acts that would violate his parole. Then Carlito is entreated by his lawyer/friend David Kleinfeld (played with chameleon-like effect by Sean Penn) who tells him he needs his help to break a gangster out of prison or he (Kleinfeld) will be killed. Carlito agrees so that he can repay his favour to Kleinfeld whom he mistakenly believes helped free him from prison because of their friendship. During the breakout, Kleinfeld kills the man he is supposed to free and as well as his son even as Carlito's yells at Kleinfeld to stop. Unbenownst to Carlito, Kleinfeld has been all along manuevering to turn him over to the FBI in order to save himself, but due to Carlito's reformed ways, the FBI decides that they would prefer to apprehend Kleinfeld who has become a well-connected criminal. Carlito's personal code of honor prevents him from turning state's evidence against Kleinfeld and he ultimately confronts his 'friend' in a hospital room where Kleinfeld is recovering from an attempted mob hit, in retaliation for Kleinfeld's murderous acts, by the mobster's other son. Verifying his friend's betrayal, Carlito secretly empties Kleinfeld's gun which results in his death following another attempt on Kleinfeld's life.

The movie then takes a wild spin when the other son of the mobster comes after Carlito because he mistakenly believes that Carlito had something to do with his father and brother's deaths. After shooting Kleinfeld in the head, the mobster's surviving son and some fellow mafioso go after Carlito at Carlito's nightclub. Carlito is confronted by them and realizes that he could never convince them of his innocence, especially since Kleinfeld is now dead, and flees from the club. The mafioso end up chasing him to the train station where Carlito plans to flee from all of his problems with Gail. Carlito ultimately meets his demise at the hands of the vengeful Benny Blanco (John Leguizamo) who shoots him three times in the chest, starting Carlito's reflection on his life before dying on a stretcher as Gail tearfully watches on. Before his death, he hands Gail the money he saved for their new life together and wishes her a good life. She then goes off to their planned destination in the Caribbean to raise their child. The film ends with Gail dancing on an exotic beach with the son she had with Carlito and the song "You are so beautiful" playing in the background.

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