I’m not a huge reader of celebrity memoirs, but when I saw Al Pacino’s was available on Spotify Premium, the idea of listening to him narrate his life appealed to me. I wouldn’t say Pacino is a particular favorite of mine, but he’s obviously been in some incredible movies over the years.
Though celebrities vary widely in how perceptive they are about their own lives, one of the more interesting aspects of reading their own thoughts about their careers is that you get a sense of what actually mattered to them, versus what they did for the money or prestige. For instance, Pacino focuses more on his early theater work than on many of his famous movies, going deep in detail on plays that haven’t been seen widely in decades. He spends a lot of time discussing his movie “Looking for Richard” a sort of hybrid documentary that he directed himself. Similarly, he spends quite a bit of time on Revolution, a notorious flop from the ’80s that Pacino and director Hugh Hudson re-cut 20 years later for special screenings. It’s a bit of score-settling, as Pacino brings up the problems he had with the original cut at the time to show how perceptive he is about what works and what doesn’t.
Sonny Boy is light on behind the scenes drama, though Pacino does offer his perspective on the well-worn story of his near firing from the role of Michael Corleone. Paramount executives really wanted a bigger name, but Francis Ford Coppola insisted on Pacino, and re-arranged the film’s shooting schedule so he could show them the famous Italian restaurant scene where Pacino really showed his chops.
There is some new information for casual fans like me. I was piqued to learn that early in his career Pacino was roommates with Martin Sheen, who later tried to do him a good turn by nominating him to be his understudy in a play while Pacino was desperately struggling. Pacino, temperamentally incapable of being anyone’s understudy, got himself fired by the director in a week.
Pacino is candid about his money issues, going into detail about his overspending and foolish reliance on shady financial advisors. He laments having to take the occasional job just for the money, despite his status in Hollywood. He mentions some dream projects that never got off the ground because of their lack of commercial potential, including a biopic of the 19th century actor Edmund Kean. He is less interested in discussing any “process” or “method” to his acting, though he has stories about acting teachers and directors, etc.
Some of the book’s most poignant material concerns his youth in the Bronx with a depressive mother and an absent father. There are many stories about his childhood friends, many of whom re-entered his life in various ways as he became a living legend.
Film fans will find a lot to enjoy in Pacino’s memoir, especially if they let him do the talking.
