Who might have thought that Scarface, a movie directed by Brian De Palma starring Al Pacino which was a remake of 1932 film of the same name could change the dimensions of gangster characters in movies forever?
Scarface begins with Tony Montana, A Cuban Refugee and an ex-convict arriving in Miami with a desire to achieve things that are bigger in his Perception. Tony along with his friends Manny Ray, Chi Chi and Angel are sent to a refugee camp at first. Later, they were released and offered with green cards in exchange for murdering a former Cuban general at the request of a well-known Miami drug lord, Frank Lopez. With a conviction to make some quick bucks and becoming the bighead that he always wanted to be, Tony is ready to go to any extent to achieve his goals, and yes, the offer of killing former Cuban general was a triumph card that Tony always wanted.
From the word go, it’s all about the rise and bloody rampage of Tony to become the unrivaled king of Drug Mafia. His decisions, his courage, and his honesty help him to achieve so many things in his life in a short span of time. But, in the process, he lost his friends, he lost his family support, and he was screwed up by his boss, but nothing stopped Tony from ruling the underworld. The dimensions of Tony as a brother, son, friend, and boyfriend proves that everyone is loyal and good until they get screwed up. The beauty of this epic gangster saga lies in the storyline where we could experience both the rise and fall of an epic gangster. Audience might find various reasons for Tony’s downfall, but the actual reason is his love for his sister and his intolerance towards things getting out of his hands.
Tony ends up in confusion, regret, and hatred when he comes to know that he killed his loyal friend & right-hand person, Manny Ray, just because he married Tony’s sister or in other words, he never wanted his sister to marry a gangster. In the climax, you could witness Tony opting for a blind attack to prove himself as the most powerful person when a group of assassin tries to kill him. That particular scene tells us that he is almost done and would like to die as a warrior rather than begging or looking forward to another chance. The character arc of Tony Montana goes on to the peaks and settles down with a tag of “The Craziest Gangster in Cinematic History” at this particular moment.
Scarface is a cinematic gem that differs from other gangster movies in a smart way. It doesn’t showcase Tony as a bad boy with a golden heart or with a high intellect level. It sticks on to the reality that Tony is ruthless and crazy. He is crazy enough to do things that strike his mind instantly, He is crazy enough to let people go when he finds them irritating, he is crazy enough to follow ethics in a business full of lies and betrayals, and most importantly, he is crazy enough to risk his life to do whatever needs to be done to show who the opponents are messing up with. This is Al Pacino’s version of Tony Montana and he is goddamn crazy!
Al Pacino as Tony Montana proved that no one in this world could pull out such an intriguing, selfish, and ruthless yet crazy guy in a most convincing way. Al Pacino might have given us even more memorable performances with movies like The Godfather trilogies, Scent of a woman, etc., but, in my personal opinion, it is a bliss watching this greatest actor performing some crazy kinds of stuff, unleashing the madness and, swag to the fullest. To sum up, Tony Montana is the craziest gangster character ever made. Scarface is one of the most influential gangster movie ever made in cinema history. And, Al Pacino is the MASTER!
“Every dog has his day” – Tony Montana
