A First-Class Mafia Thriller

Rating: 10/10 (25 September 2012)

Donnie Brasco is a crime drama starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp together Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo, and Anne Heche.It is based on the true story of Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI undercover agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family in New York City during the 1970s, under the alias Donnie Brasco, aka, "The Jewel Man".It was directed by Mike Newell.
Joe Pistone is an FBI agent who is given an assignment to infiltrate the Mafia; calling himself Donnie Brasco, he befriends Lefty Ruggiero , a low-level mob hit man whose personal life is in tatters. Lefty's marriage is falling apart, his son is a junkie, and his health is failing, which only adds to his growing disillusionment about having spent 30 years with the Mafia with little to show for it. But in Donnie, Lefty sees someone who can succeed where he failed; he takes the young man under his wing, and under Lefty's tutelage Donnie quickly rises through the ranks of organized crime.However,as Donnie moves deeper into the Mafia, he realizes that not only is he crossing the line between federal agent and criminal, but also leading his friend Lefty to an almost certain death.It also drives a wedge between himself and his wife and children, and he realizes that a break in character among the hoodlums he's come to know could mean a death sentence for himself and his family. Just as importantly, Joe has come to regard Lefty as a close and trusted friend, and Joe realizes that when the day comes where he has to turn in his Mob associates, he'll be ending Lefty's life as surely as if he put a slug in his head himself.
This is a first-class Mafia thriller.No question about it.First of all,the performances were nothing but spectacular.Pacino and Depp are a match made in acting heaven, riffing off each other with astonishing subtlety and wit.Also, is like a de-romanticized, de-mythologized version of The Godfather as it offers an uncommonly detailed, privileged glimpse inside the world of organized crime from the perspective of the little guys at the bottom of Mafia hierarchy rather than from the kingpins at the top. This not only one of the great modern-day gangster movies to put in the company of The Godfather films and GoodFellas, but it is also one of the great undercover police movies probably even surpassing Serpico and Prince of the City with respect to richness of character, detail, and moral complexity.In summary,it is a gangster movie that succeeds on all levels.Highly recommended indeed.