Johnny Brasco.

Rating: 7/10 (15 May 2015)

Donnie Brasco (1997): Dir: Mike Newell / Cast: Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, Anne Heche, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby: Containing not a shred of originality and looks like every other gangster film. Johnny Depp plays Donnie Brasco, an undercover cop getting caught up in the crime. Graphic scene includes bodies being sawn up. Conclusion is pretty obvious. Director Mike Newell is aided by good locations. Depp is in fine form as Brasco drawn into crime without regret or acknowledgement. Al Pacino is in his right element as a mob boss who takes in Brasco like a son until certain facts eventually surface. Anne Heche plays Brasco's wife who struggles to maintain his true identity but unfortunately the role is pretty predictable and one note . Michael Madsen is typecast as a mobster. He was great in this sort of role in Reservoir Dogs but here he is doing nothing new. In fact nothing about the supporting roles uphold any belief that this is anything other than a routine gangster film. It is a who's who in gangster casting and it is a weak element in the film. Formula and cliché with superb climax. It is well crafted but contains all the elements seen in countless other films of its kind. It is the performances by Depp and Pacino that make this outing better than it might have been in lesser hands. This is what you call a glorious familiarity, or perhaps everybody shares the same story in the mob. Score: 7 / 10