A Meaningful Mobster Thriller

Rating: 8/10 (18 February 2001)

"Donnie Brasco" is the true story of an FBI agent(Johnny Depp) whose job is to gradually infiltrate a lower, yet still quite dangerous, rung of the New York City mob in the 70s. Masquerading around as "Donnie Brasco, the Jeweler", he gets the attention of Lefty(Al Pacino), a veteran mobster who knows he'll never get ahead in the mob again, and subconsciously wants to mentor a mob foreigner to bring purpose back into his life. Lefty is enamored with Donnie, and isn't afraid to "vouch" for him to bring Donnie into his circle of the mob. Soon Donnie becomes like another son to Lefty, and gradually gets to know his friends, including the ambitious Sonny Black(Michael Madsden). Unfortunately his time on the job doesn't leave much for his wife Maggie(Ann Heche), who is tired of never having a husband around to support raising three children. Furthermore, as he spends more and more time with Lefty's gang, Donnie proportionally loses his old identity and actually becomes "Donnie Brasco". Saying more about the film would be time-consuming and wrong, since I only feel like I should give the basic meat of this very intriguing story and let anyone who hasn't seen it experience it for itself.
The acting in this film is of the highest caliber. Al Pacino, of course, gives an unbelievable performance as Lefty, able to elicit a lot of sympathy and empathy from the viewer despite the viewer's knowledge of his "26 hits". It's clear that if his Lefty wasn't in the mob, he'd be your very admirable old next door neighbor, telling you stories and capturing your attention. From what I have read of reviews, people seem to be downplaying Johnny Depp's acting abilities. I thought he did an amazing job, as the transformation from his real identity Joe to the cool Donnie Brasco is very visible and intriguing. We know that he finds a lot more truth and meaning in the hectic and real mob life than in the impersonal bureaucratic FBI. When he says to his wife late in the film "I can't breathe anymore", we know exactly what he means: Joe is almost faded away, and Donnie the Quintessential Gangster's lifestyle is his own. Also not to be written off is Micheal Madsden, who also did a tremendous job in Reservoir Dogs. Hey Micheal, why'd you waste your time with Free Willy and not take Quentin Tarantino up on his offer to play THE Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction???

A lot of people have written that this film forces a 70s vibe, but I don't think so at all. Maybe I was too busy noticing Lefty's defeatist stare when he sees buddy Sonny shaking hands with "The Boss" he so wanted to please- scenes like that made the film for me, and they're sprinkled throughout to create a very well-done picture. It does have some flaws, however. The family scenes could have been a lot better done, and I have the feeling that a lot more about the mob could have been explained. Oh well, I can't even express how much value I got out of this film, as I got it for free from the library. Please take the time to watch it- it's an excellent glimpse of the life I think we all sometimes desire to live, and also an exploration of the great loving relationship of Lefty and Donnie.
Rating: Highly Recommended, 8.5/10