Donnie Brasco (1997)

Rating: 8/10 (16 April 2020)

Directed by Mike Newell. Starring Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, Michael Madsen, Anne Heche, Bruno Kirby, Zeljko Ivanek, James Russo, Gerry Becker, Rocco Sisto, Robert Miano, Brain Tarantina. (R)
Aging, low-rung Mafia hitman Lefty (Pacino) befriends and vouches for fellow hood Donnie Brasco (Depp), bringing him into his criminal family alongside capo Madsen, completely unaware that Donnie is actually an undercover fed named Joe Pistone. Based on Pistone's memoir, screenwriter Paul Attanasio and director Newell do a commendable job of taking a lot of familiar crime film elements and giving them a fresh perspective and vitality; we've seen a lot of these types before, but Lefty's sad-eyed insight is what counts. Joe's sketchy family life is undernourished--his long-suffering wife (Heche) gripes a lot about being on the verge of leaving him, and it's never clear why she doesn't--which only serves to show that his new "adopted" family is the one dominating his life, especially his deep bond with Lefty. Driven by the two great lead performances: Depp's abstinence from his trademark quirks for an honest portrayal, troubled and anxious while finding his loyalties and behavior torn between two extremes, and Pacino's furtive angles on brotherly love and the deep melancholy instilled in a man who brags about having a name that everyone in all five boroughs knows, yet is treated like a knockaround guy by his mob superiors. Paul Giamatti and John Blake Nelson appear briefly.
80/100