Deeply moving, true crime drama, superb cast SPOILERS!!!

Rating: 9/10 (24 October 2004)

I just watched this movie again being a huge Depp fan, it's one of his best. Other actors his age could have been casted (Cruise, Cusack, Penn possibly) but only Johnny could have pulled it off. (If you see the real Joe Pistone in the DVD special features, you'll know why). Why is this movie so moving? Because of strong bond is the basis of what a mob family is all about..honor, loyalty, trust..it has all the elements, and they are intertwined along with the same values to which an FBI agent relies on and believes in as well. So when "Donnie Brasco" befriends "Lefty" and goes underground for 6 yrs to bring down over 100 indictments, you are swept in to the lifestyle he leads as he's "working". You see a friendship between two men, from different worlds in reality but undercover for one, and ignorant for the other. Johnny Depp as an Italian man is almost as polished as Al Pacino. Both were intelligently casted as was Anne Heche as the nagging wife! This film gives us (from what the director says and Pitone himself) an in depth view of the crime underworld. What we get to see from the director and writer is the humanity, the "real" people who live that life. Both lives for that matter, that of "made men" and of FBI agents. Very believable, right down to the time period, the costumes, the cars..and of course the two greatest actors..Depp and Pacino! Rent it, borrow it, buy it, whatever you can, but don't miss it. You'll find yourself feeling sorry for a mob guy and how amazing is that??