“Looking For Richard” (1996)
While Al Pacino’s defining acting has been enormously celebrated throughout the decades, Pacino’s career as a director hasn’t been regarded quite as dearly. After amassing 30 years of acting experience, Al Pacino finally stepped behind the camera for the first time in 1996 with “Looking For Richard,” an engaging, inquisitive, impassioned docu-drama that found the actor in a quest to communicate what Shakespeare — more specifically, “Richard III” — means to the veteran artist. But more than that, Pacino tries to tackle Shakespeare’s proclaimed text by reflecting a more modern, approachable perspective, in a way that relates to how people think and feel towards the end of the 20th century. “Looking For Richard” features a variety of familiar talking heads, including Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, James Earl Jones and more, but it’s primarily a showcase for Pacino and his contagious respect and admiration for Shakespeare. It’s also a surprisingly (and thrillingly) accessible movie too, a film that could likely entertain viewers with only the faintest familiarity with Shakespeare’s rhythmic writing, while still bringing the dignity, craftsmanship and dutiful reverence you typically associate with the Bard’s lofty pen. It’s both a fine love letter to Shakespeare and a completely enjoyable look into the world of acting. As a wandering presence in Pacino’s journey, the viewer is given an immersive, reflective view of Pacino and the persistent efforts of his fellow actors. As a result, you’re instantly immersed. Even if you don’t walk away a bigger Shakespeare fan, you’ll nevertheless find yourself captivated by the passion and pride Pacino brings in front and behind the camera as both an actor and filmmaker. Pacino’s directing resume is notably much shorter than his acting CV, but “Looking For Richard” serves as a charming, gratifying debut into moviemaking. – WA
“Donnie Brasco” (1997)
Think Pacino lost it in the nineties? Think again. Though “Scent of A Woman,” “Two Bits” and even (relatively) “Heat” showcased Pacino at his most exuberantly grandiose, Brasco brings him back to a performance of stealth and nuance. Pacino plays Lefty Ruggiero, who teaches Donnie Brasco (Johnny Depp) about the ins and outs of the criminal world, not realizing he’s being used as a pawn by Brasco co-opting as a Federal agent. Depp and Pacino are on top form, Pacino joining Sean Connery and Gene Hackman as an enlightened mentor, the natural progression from his steely leads of his thirties. Pacino brings pathos to a character so utterly pathetic, unable to sense the reality of Brasco’s occupation. “If you’re a rat, then I’m the biggest mutt in the history of the mafia” he states, but for a mutt, he manages to maintain audience (and Brasco’s sympathy), a feat few of the cleverest men in the entire world can pull off. -Eoghan Lyng
“The Insider” (1999)
Like “Heat,” “The Insider” is also epic in scope and directed by Michael Mann, but this film’s epicness derives not from a sprawling metropolis where bank robbers are running rampant, but whether or not CBS will air a “60 Minutes” interview. There’s elements of this film that might seem passé for some, considering that today anything with a lead to a bigger story will come out in the media in some form or another. But, there’s an aspect to “The Insider” that’s also prevalent: protecting your interest and assets amidst something you know is wrong. Pacino portrays “60 Minutes” producer Lowell Bergman, who urges former Brown & Williamson biologist Jeff Wigand (Russell Crowe) to go on “60 Minutes” and be a whistleblower for the company’s unsafe practices. And also like “Heat,” the key scene is one early on between Bergman and Wigand, having a conversation over the terms across the table from one another. It’s just two people talking, but the way Mann stages it (deliberately breaking the 180-degree rule in the process) is pulsating. Mann often gets great performance, but they often take a backseat to the film’s mood and atmosphere. With “The Insider,” the actors are the driving force. – RO
“Any Given Sunday” (1999)
Hear us out first. Say what you will about Oliver Stone’s overlong, hyperactive, finger-waving indictment of professional football and the behind-the-scenes turmoil that allows these young players’ fates to be at the hands of those out of their control, it does yield a very memorable Pacino performance. As coach Tony D’Amato – a veteran coach clashing with the team’s young owner (Cameron Diaz) over the direction of the team – Pacino brings wisdom and fire to a character that feels almost autobiographical. A veteran actor sparring with newcomers playing a seasoned football coach butting heads with people who have spent less time on the ground floor is a perfect match of actor and material. And even though it doesn’t gel tonally with the rest of the film’s scathing attitude towards the NFL, Pacino gives an excellent speech that has been played in high school locker rooms since the film was released in 1999. Again, the rah-rah aspect of the speech feels like it comes out of left field in the context of the film, but that blame falls onto Stone, not onto the passion that Pacino puts into it. – RO
“Insomnia” (2002)
Christopher Nolan’s 2002 remake of Erik Skjoldbjærg’s 1997 film is perhaps Pacino’s last great performance (for now). He plays Will Dormer, a detective investigating a murder in a small Alaskan town where the sun doesn’t set, while also being under investigation himself for the accidental shooting of his partner while trying to apprehend a suspect. Pacino has a terrific supporting cast to spar with, including Hilary Swank as a local police officer, and the late Robin Williams as the serial killer. In a way, Pacino and Nolan made a creative choice with the Dormer character that somehow predicted the feeling that Nolan detractors say they have: sunken eyes from tiredness, loss of senses, and claiming to have difficulty following the narrative labyrinth when the pieces have all been laid out. That digression aside, Pacino perfectly articulates with his facial expressions and body language the feeling of fatigue from insomnia. It’s a performance of physicality that he hadn’t boasted in quite some time, and a terrific one at that. – RO
“You Don’t Know Jack” (2010)
Playing the real-life Dr. Jack Kevorkian (the proponent of physician-assisted suicide to the public, the notorious “Dr. Death” to the press), Pacino brings dignity, strength and, most prominently, life to a part that is dedicated entirely around the subject of death. Pacino is strong in the courtroom scenes (he dresses himself as a verbal raconteur in one scene), but it is his domestic scenes, withering and wincing towards the broadcast that defames his very name, where he really shines, the method king bringing audiences on a query which there are no clear-cut answers to; is assisted euthanasia an aid or is it murder? If this weren’t a made for television film (and it just preceded Netflix), then Pacino may well have been an Oscar contender. As it stands, it’s one of the better performances of his Autumn years. –EL
There are probably dozens of honorable mentions you could make: Harold Becker‘s “City Hall,” Taylor Hackford‘s “The Devil’s Advocate” if you love Pacino’s over-the-top 90s era, “Frankie And Johnny” or even the more recent “Manglehorn” from David Gordon Green (or sure, “Scent Of A Woman”), Pacino’s career contains multitudes. If you’re not in New York, hopefully this may inspire you to find something to rent, stream or watch, however you manage to do it. If you are in New York, you have no excuse; “Pacino’s Way” runs now until March 30.