Solid but middling Mafia movie

Rating: 6/10 (4 March 2015)

This gangster film is based on a true story that occurred in the late 70's. An undercover FBI agent goes under the moniker of Donnie Brasco, a jewel expert from New York. He soon finds favour with an aging mob hit-man called Lefty Ruggiero. Under his wing, he discovers the ways of the Mafia. The older man sees Donnie as someone he can trust and who he can help with his street wisdom. Donnie, in turn, finds himself slowly turning into the gangster he is pretending to be.
On the surface this is another mafia movie but it's more about the relationship between the two protagonists than anything else. As Donnie rises in the mob, Lefty is left behind; while the FBI agent has to deal with the knowledge that if he is successful in his objective he is effectively putting a death sentence on his friend. So the themes of loyalty and betrayal are strong. At the same time both men experience marriage difficulties on account of their lifestyles, so this operates as a domestic family drama too, as well as a look at the small details of mob life. Johnny Depp is okay in the title role but in the main he is surprisingly bland and uninteresting; Al Pacino on the other hand, is very good as a beaten down unglamourous gangster, who is a far less assured character than the ones he plays in most of his other starring roles in crime films. The movie as a whole is a solid but not upper bracket addition to the Italian American crime film sub-genre. Although, it's true life origins do give it something extra.