Johnny Depp at the top of his game

Rating: 9/10 (9 March 2004)

A good actor is one who we forget is on the screen seeing the character rather than the performer. Johnny Depp seems to achieve this often in his career and once again we are treated to an outstanding performance in Donnie Brasco. Depp plays FBI Agent Joe Pistone who goes undercover to infiltrate a New york mob family. Hollywood has been there done that with this subject matter many times over but this film has a feel that is different than most of those over the top productions. Joe Pistone becomes his alter ego Donnie Brasco, blurring the line between his job and reality. This is an intricate character study not a film full of flying bullets and cheesy bravado. Depp and Al Pacino both give Oscar worthy efforts as you see the fondness develop between their characters over the course of the story making the inevitable ending that much tougher for Pistone to deal with.