Donnie Brasco Details

Donnie Brasco

Donnie Brasco centers around the true story of FBI Agent, Joseph D. Pistone, played by Johnny Depp, who infiltrates the mafia of New York, by befriending Benjamin 'Lefty' Ruggerio (Al Pacino) under the moniker of Donnie Brasco. He gets himself in with the mafia faction led by Sonny Black (Michael Madsen), and finds himself falling in deeper and deeper as the group hit the big time. This puts Donny at conflict, putting a strain on his marriage, but unable to walk away lest Lefty pays the price.

Donnie Brasco is probably one of the best mob films I've seen since The Godfather and Scarface. Johnny Depp delivers a convincing perfomance as a mobster, but also a man who is at conflict with himself, his family, his friends but most of all his conscience, showing once again Depp's versatility as an actor. Also Al Pacino delivers arguarbly one of his best perfomances, showing Lefty to be a character who is strong, loyal and yet vulnerable. And of all the characters, Lefty is the one you feel for the most.

As Brasco delves deeper and deeper into the crime syndicate, the more intense the storyline becomes and the more you feel for the particpants. And the fact that it is based on a true story makes it all the more compelling.

When people mention mob films, the first they say are The Godfather, and Scarface. But Donnie Brasco definitely deserves to be mentioned too.

Is this a must-see film? Eh, forget about it! (That means yes.)

[Highly rated reviewer]

How can John Wayne die?

On one level, 'Donnie Brasco' might just look like another mafia movie. But it's not. It tells the story of FBI agent Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp), who in the late 1970s was hired to infiltrate the mafia. So, he got acquainted with hit-man Benjamin 'Lefty' Ruggiero (Al Pacino). But lo and behold, Joe got too much into the mafia lifestyle, to the point where it dominated his life and kept him from his family. And no one ended up with a very good reward at the end.

Both Depp and Pacino are about as intense as we expect them to be, with good support from Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo, Anne Heche and Zeljko Ivanek. With his hair all greased back, Depp looks like the ultimate mafioso. I should identify that there are two scenes that will probably make your skin crawl: the leg scene, and what they do to the Japanese waiter.

But don't get me wrong. This is a really good movie. It's certainly a less glamorized view of mafia life than most of Al Pacino's movies, and it was great to see a young Johnny Depp.