Scarface - film review
Tony Montana is a Cuban refugee recently arrived in Florida in search of the American Dream, whose mother and sister (Gina) live in a modest single storey dwelling on the outskirts of Miami. His father left the family home a long time ago. Tony has been separated from his family for many years, and the lack of a positive male role model or a domineering matriarchal figure during teenage years appears to have been influential in his development.
Desperate to become a 'success' before re-establishing contact with his estranged family, Tony employs ethically dubious business practices in the course of building a substantial personal fortune from his work as head of a large pharmaceuticals supplier. He marries the woman of his dreams Elvira, whom he has managed to lure away from recently deceased boss Frank Lopez, but happiness remains elusive as their relationship enters a rocky patch and Elvira ultimately walks out. Tony's family also reject him - his mother unwilling to accept financial assistance, and his 'kid' sister Gina resentful of Tony's proscriptive attitude towards her romantic liaisons. This overly protective approach to Gina highlights an ambiguous personal morality which contrasts sharply with Tony's business credo. ("All I have in this world is my balls and my word and I don't break them for no one.")
Tony's business associates are a disappointing cross-section of middle and senior managers in the banking and chemical industries. Even the cultured and sophisticated Bolivian landowner Alejandro Sosa resorts to underhand methods when he runs into difficulties with an over-zealous investigative journalist. This latter episode leads eventually to Tony's demise, as Sosa holds him responsible for the failure properly to manage the resulting PR catastrophe.
As the film reaches its culmination with Tony blown away into the pool adorning the reception area of his mansion, his earlier observation, "You know what capitalism is? Getting fucked!" seems strangely apposite.
Essential viewing.