Forty years out from Scarface storming American cinemas in a hail of machine-gun fire, why is Tony Montana still idolized by dealers, mafiosos, gangsters, gangstas, rappers and anyone else vowing to live large outside the law?
His nearly three-hour biography qualifies as tragedy, the story of a rage-choked cocaine addict with minimal self-control and a possible incest kink who methodically alienates everyone he’s ever held dear until he is gruesomely murdered for his impulsivity and hubris. He spends his twilight years paranoid, tasteless, violent and miserable, equal parts cautionary tale and mad king(pin). He’s not exactly an aspirational figure.
