Carlito's Way - Characters & Cast

His primary motivation is to save enough money ($75,000) to escape New York and start a new, legitimate life in the Caribbean with his love, Gail. He seeks peace, redemption, and a future free from the violence and betrayal that defined his past.

Carlito's arc is one of attempted redemption that ends in tragedy. He begins as a newly freed, hopeful man determined to abandon his criminal past. He tries to live by a code of honor in a dishonorable world, but his loyalty and inability to fully sever old ties continually drag him back into violence. He evolves from a confident ex-con to a man desperately running from a fate he knows is closing in. His journey is circular; he ends up dying because of the very world he tried to escape, a victim of his own past and principles.

Kleinfeld is motivated by greed, ego, and a growing addiction to cocaine and the gangster lifestyle. He feels he is owed respect and power, and he is willing to betray anyone, including his clients and his best friend, Carlito, to get what he wants and save himself.

Kleinfeld's arc is a descent into corruption and self-destruction. Once a lawyer who feared his clients, he becomes a cocaine-addled, wannabe gangster who has lost his moral compass. His journey is a mirror-image of Carlito's; as Carlito tries to get out of the criminal life, Kleinfeld, the supposed 'straight' man, dives deeper into it. His paranoia and greed lead him to betray a mob boss, which directly triggers the film's tragic climax and seals Carlito's fate.

Her motivation is to build a stable, loving life with a reformed Carlito, away from the stripping and the crime that surrounds them. She loves him and believes in his capacity for change, wanting only the peaceful future he has promised her.

Gail represents the possibility of a different, better life for Carlito. Initially hesitant to let him back into her life, she eventually embraces their rekindled romance and becomes pregnant with his child. Her arc is one of hope and enduring love in the face of Carlito's dangerous world. She is his connection to a legitimate, peaceful existence and, in the end, she becomes the vessel for his legacy, escaping with their unborn child.

Benny is motivated by ego, ambition, and a thirst for respect and power in the criminal underworld. He wants to be seen as a major player and is deeply insulted by Carlito's dismissiveness, leading to a deadly obsession with getting even.

Benny Blanco is an ambitious, young gangster who wants to make a name for himself. He sees Carlito as a legend he wants to supplant. His arc is short but pivotal. After being publicly humiliated by Carlito, who refuses to kill him out of a sense of changed morality, Benny's desire for revenge festers. He ultimately represents the new, ruthless generation that has no respect for the old codes, and he becomes the instrument of Carlito's tragic fate.