Good enough, but let down by length

Rating: 6/10 (26 November 2001)

I was looking forward to seeing Donnie Brasco as I'm a fan of 'mafia type' films. This, however, fell short of my expectations for a few reasons, but then again, I did like some themes and ambitious storytelling techniques in the film.
My main faulting with Donnie Brasco is that some parts of it seemed rather rushed to me, which resulted in an element of unintentional confusion. Screenwriter Paul Attansio has ambitiously tried to converge several strands of the story into the film, probably trying to achieve all the elements of the book. These strands include not only Joseph Pistone/Donnie Brasco's (expertly portrayed by Johnny Depp) undercover work in the Mafia but also the effect his profession has on his home life and the current events in the Mafia. While this would work well with more explanation, it seems that some parts, especially Pistone's home life, were too rushed and too big jumps were made in the plot.
Some people may be deceived into thinking that Pistone's increasing devotion to the Mafia is because he feels at home or accepted within the organisation but I think that it is much more to do with the theme of friendship, more specifically his friendship with 'Leftie' (Al Pacino on fine form). The look on Pistone's face when his mafia 'buddies' are beating the hell out of the Japanese waiter is clear evidence to me that he does not want to be a part of it. Friendship is usually a common theme in films of this genre, but it is conveyed in fine detail in the film, showing that despite the obvious, the friendship between the two protagonists is not betrayed.
The character of Pistone/Brasco is developed wonderfully from an FBI agent pretending to be a jewel expert, to actually temporarily becoming part of the Mafia, and back again. The in depth insight into the character is one of the film's strongest points undoubtedly, almost it's saving grace.
However, the themes and characters do not make up for some of the gaps in the storyline which I observed on a first viewing, and so this film never does excel the tag of just 'good'
6/10