Pacino’s autobiography has exactly the tone of voice you would expect, and has lots of coverage of roles and techniques, but under indexes on celebrity stories likely due to his general lack of interest in fame.
The book starts pretty strong, with an evocative telling of his years growing up in the Bronx. As he matures and follows his passion for acting, his adolescent mates go down far darker roads with many ending up the victims of drugs. A really sad contrast that highlights just how important key people such as his acting (life) mentor Charlie Laughton were Pacino’s life.
The background to his early successes such as Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, and of course The Godfather are fascinating, but I think the book starts to drift a little from that point on. There are some philosophical gems hidden in those later pages but it almost feels like Pacino lost a little interest in his own book.
