Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Scarface’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

The American Dream is a beautiful concept that is hammered into our heads at quite the young age, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing by any means. After all, who doesn’t love waking up with the thought that someday, when we are adults and ready to take on the world, that we can in fact do it because we live in a place where the possibilities for our future are endless. And all we need to find success is hold on tight to our dreams and work our butts off to obtain them, and enjoy the benefits when we achieve all of our goals. If anything, it is a message that genuinely inspires us to be more and do more in this world and while it is noble in nature, there is a dark side to the American Dream that we tend to ignore more often than not.
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For some people simply don’t understand the uplifting nature of the dream and how it is meant to inspire the citizens of America and the people who come here hoping for a better life. Instead, all they see is the glamour and glitz that comes with being filthy rich, and they ignore the inclusive nature of the Dream, and do whatever it takes to achieve fortune and glory without a care in the world as to whom they hurt in the process. And these are the folks we see eventually fall from grace since their destructive behavior eventually infects their very soul and recently I took the time to revisit a motion picture that does a phenomenal job of looking at this uglier side to the American Dream in raw and angry fashion in Scarface.

Now for those unfamiliar with this particular film, in it we are introduced to a Cuban born immigrant named Tony Montana and Tony sees quite the opportunity in front of him once he immerses himself in the wonder of America. Because now he can leave his past behind and be somebody special in the city of Miami, he just needs an opportunity to make that happen and well… when he gets his chance, he turns into something that no one expected. For as the years roll on, Tony Montana quickly becomes the biggest drug kingpin in the city, and while he enjoys the good life with his beautiful wife, the damage he’s done to his family and his soul will eventually come back to haunt him when he makes the call to do something noble for a change.  

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Perhaps the best way to describe this film, is to call it a grand American tragedy simply because this story really does feature a powerful rise and fall, one that involves the twisting of the American Dream for personal gain and it also serves as a powerful character study as well, but it takes a little while to understand that latter element is present with the framework of the story. Because at first glance, Scarface really does appear to be the kind of violent epic designed to glorify everything negative it features over its incredible two and a half-hour runtime and that really is the trick of this film. For in essence we are witnessing these wild moments through Tony’s eyes, and that cowboy atmosphere is how he views our country and these elements matter, because the audience should eventually become numb to the violence and the excess, allowing for us to finally examine Tony in great detail.
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Which is fascinating twist to say the least, and this is where the tragedy aspect comes into play. For in essence, we eventually come to learn that Tony is just a broken man, one that is clearly intelligent and business savvy. But rather than reinvent himself in America, he embraces his anger at every turn and uses it to not only fuel his drive for success, but to take revenge upon a world that has been cruel to him and it is incredible and powerful to watch this man lose his soul to the fury within and drag others down with him in the process. But truly the most powerful part of Tony’s journey, is the sheer fact that his downward spiral does remind us that there is a point of no return when it comes to the evil we do. Since the only redeeming act, he attempts within the story costs him everything, simply because he’s surrendered himself to people that simply don’t give a damn about human life.

If anything, this is a sobering film when all is said and done, and its dark explorations of the human soul and how we twist good things to benefit ourselves and nothing more, stay with you long after this tragedy has come to its end and that makes this movie one that I highly recommend to others. Because this one is bold and devastating and it features some incredible performances from its cast, with special attention to Al Pacino, who plays Tony. For his portrayal of this character is sublime, since Pacino covers everything we’ve discussed in this review in both direct and subtle fashion and it really is quite incredible to see Tony’s rage on display, even after he’s achieved his dreams and perhaps finding genuine peace within ourselves is the true lesson of this film. For if we cannot, it’s only a matter of time before our demons come back to haunt us, regardless of our achievements.      

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