A Different Kind Of Mafia Movie

Rating: 8/10 (8 June 2019)

It may not be as good as "Goodfellas" or "The Godfather," but this is an extremely underrated gangster film, and it has one of Al Pacino's best performances. He plays Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero, a sad old wiseguy who has been passed up for promotion in the organization again and again. Pacino is so good in this film. He perfectly captures the resentment and disappointment of a man who just wants to be respected. He's always broke, lives in a sorta shabby apartment, and is treated with scorn by some of the other gangsters.
Lefty doesn't have the best judgment, which is part of why his life has turned out the way it has. His biggest mistake is to befriend "Don The Jeweler," whose alias is Donnie Brasco, but who is actually an undercover FBI agent named Joe Pistone. The film is based on the real Joe Pistone's story, and Johnny Depp plays him in the movie.
This film is not like other gangster films. It is slow-moving, melancholy, and does not glamorize mob life at all. We see Lefty after 30 plus years and the life has been sucked out of him. There is not a whole lot of violence in the film, although there are one or two scenes that are pretty gruesome. One really cool thing about the movie is that it gives you an insider's view of the daily minutiae of mob life. There are some neat scenes of Lefty explaining to Donnie how to act like a wiseguy, how to dress, how wiseguys carry their money in a roll and not a wallet, etc.
"Donnie Brasco" does have a few negative aspects. Some of the scenes between Donnie/Joe and his wife are the same old clichés, and the film becomes less compelling toward the end. Still, it's well worth watching for the brooding drama and the terrific performance by Pacino.