The Impasse: when the love story between Al Pacino and Penelope Ann Miller went beyond fiction

The Impasse: a majestic reunion

Ten years after scarfaceBrian De Palma once again directs Al Pacino for The Impasse, released in 1993. In this cult film, the actor lends his features to Carlito Brigante, a worn-out gangster who leaves prison in 1978 and finds New York, after spending five years behind bars. Determined to stay on the right track, the repentant criminal strives to stay away from the streets, even if his bad luck and his knowledge keep bringing him back.

His dream? Raise $75,000 legally in order to go to the Bahamas, to partner with a partner in a car rental company. But between the snitches who operate secretly for the police, the new generation of thugs who no longer have any ethics, and his crooked lawyer David Kleinfeld (Sean Penn) who has a tendency to get him into trouble, Carlito must overcome many pitfalls.

Penelope Ann Miller, John Leguizamo, Luis Guzmán and Viggo Mortensen complete the cast of this disenchanted masterpiece. In addition to the royal performance of Al Pacino, tired and aspiring to a better life, the feature film remains in memory thanks to its gallery of scoundrels (Benny Blanco in the lead), its breathless final pursuit but also its love story poignant.

A compromising affair for Al Pacino

In the film, Carlito Brigante attempts to reconnect with the love of his life, Gail, a dancer who works at a strip club. During the production of The Impasse, the romance between Al Pacino and Penelope Ann Miller goes beyond fiction. The duo develops real chemistry and begins an affair. A relationship that the actor, then in a relationship with producer Lyndall Hobbs, would have liked to keep secret.

However, his on-screen partner mentions it publicly. Asked by People in 1993, Penelope Ann Miller declared:

It’s no secret and I’m not ashamed of it.

The actress is full of praise for Al Pacino, adding then:

Al is a very passionate person, and he brought out a certain femininity in me, a sexuality, a passion. I think I always knew I had it in me, but it lit a real fire.

During filming, Penelope Ann Miller and Al Pacino keep a low profile “for the good of the film”, according to the actress. At the New York premiere of the feature film which he attends with his partner, the actor does everything to avoid Gail’s interpreter according to People. The latter, however, prefers to assume their idyll, as complicated as it is. During his interview with the magazine, a month after the release of The Impasseshe concludes:

Our relationship continued after the movie. But I realized that if two people are meant to be together, it doesn’t have to be such a struggle. I learned not to show my feelings so much. And knowing how to let go sometimes.