Tribalism

Rating: Null/10 (5 September 2004)

SPOILERS.
I'm fully prepared to trash Mafia movies because they've been coming out with so many of them over the last 30 years or so that they could easily be organized into a college course like, "Deviant Behavior 201: La Cosa Nostra." The problem is that some of them are pretty good, like "Donnie Brasco." And why not? Many of them involve the services of such talented Italian-Americans as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorcese, Mario Puzo, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Brian De Palma, and Roger Corman. They tend to occur in two types. The Sensasionalistic Type (or what we call "Type I") are usually historical in nature and center on a Big Man, usually Al Capone, and/or an historical event, usually The St. Valentine's Day Massacre. The Ethographic Type (or "Type II") tries to give us an insider's view of Mafia social dynamics, introducing us to how things work around here, so to speak, like a training film. Thus, for instance, "He's my friend," means "I vouch for him and if he fouls up, I die." But "He's a friend of ours," means, "He's a made man, a member in good standing, and if you touch him, you die."
"Donnie Brasco", based on an at least partially true story, gives us a lot of the insiders' codes -- but we already know most of them from reading, from the History Channel, or from previous movies. ("The Valachi Papers" was a nice introduction.) The film makers of "Donnie Brasco" know that we know, so some of the codes -- the expressions ("Fuggedaboudit"), the amusing nicknames (Anthony "The Entymologist" Guglielmo) -- are treated as jokes to the audience. And "Donnie Brasco" DOES have its amusing moments.
But it deals too with what I'm forced to call a "theme." The values of the particular social world we belong to are always a little in conflict with the values of society at large. Maybe we occasionally do drugs with friends, although most people disapprove and it's against the law, after all. That sort of thing. Now multiply those discrepancies by a high value number and you are in the position of an FBI informer who infiltrates the Mafia and gets to know and finally respect at least some of them. Do you really want to blow the whistle on a trusting friend who's behavior is criminal only about 1 percent of the time? How about if he really LIKES you and promotes you in the group? And has cancer in his family? And, in his own peculiar way, is a man of principle?
The movie makes it easy for us to identify with Depp as the informer, and with Pacino as his mentor, and to some extent with the intimate social world of the Mafia as well. They are earthy and passionate and colorful. They eat, drink, make love, and swear with gusto. Society at large is represented by the FBI, a bunch of bloodless freaks if there ever was one. They look like computer nerds and talk like IRS auditors. When Brasco betrays the mob, which leads to the death of his friend and mentor, the FBI present him with a medal and a check for five-hundred dollars. The ceremony is perfunctory, brief, and nobody attends. A picture is taken of Depp with the measely check that has cost Pacino his life. After what the movie has shown us, the guy must have felt like a minor-league Judas.
A lot of people seem to feel that Depp's performance was outstanding, but I thought it was competent, not much more. Maybe I'm missing something. Pacino is marvelous, though. His voice has become a rough gargle and he is old enough to look, not defeated, but thoughtful about his losses. Just right for the role. The support includes Zeljko Ivanek, also excellent in the part of an FBI agent. I wish more use would be made of him because he's a fine actor, but I suppose he'll have to change his name to something more spellable before he hits the big time. Anne Heche is competent too. She's acquired a thin but nice New York accent here. Her skeletal structure is gracile. And her features, even her prominent nose, look delicate and vulnerable. Michael Madsen is a nice gentle guy, but he makes a great screen heavy, of the thuggish type, not the caddish type.
Worth seeing.