Donnie Brasco (2000, DVD)

"A wise guy's always right. Even when he's wrong, he's right." Lefty Ruggiero

Donnie Brasco is the story of an FBI agent who penetrated the inner circle of the famed New York Italian underworld. The real agent was named Joseph Pistone and he wrote the book this story is based upon. His underworld name was Donnie Brasco, hence the title of the film. Brasco (Johnny Depp) became known by hanging around the fringes of the mob and making it known he was in the jewelry business. "Don da Jeweler" gets approached privately by a real mafioso, Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino) who wanted to sell a hot diamond ring. After a quick inspection, Brasco pronounced it "a fugazy" - a counterfeit. After a bit of verbal sparring, the two men go to find the man who gave the ring to Lefty, relieving him of his Porsche in lieu of the fake diamond ring. From that point on, Donnie is in with Lefty, a troubled, lonely man who wants someone to follow in his footsteps. A similar theme was explored in the excellent crime drama The Mechanic.

Lefty is a made man, a true mafioso, but only a soldier. He has twenty-six kills under his belt but is forever being passed by for higher positions. As such, he is disillusioned but knows no other way of life. His boss is Sonny Black (Michael Madsen - Reservoir Dogs). Just like the best gangster movies, like the peerless Godfather or Goodfellas, the emphasis is on relationships, family, togetherness; at least among the annointed. Lefty takes Donnie under his wing and vouches for him to the mob. As a result Donnie begins to be seduced by the illicit lifestyle and almost forgets where his loyalties lie. This creates problems in his home life and also in his career with the FBI. Donnie is in the unenviable position of being responsible for either his own or Lefty's demise, depending on whether he lives long enough to bring the mob to trial.

Both Johnny Depp and Al Pacino are fabulous in their roles, as the undercover man and mobster, respectively. However, I must give kudos to Al Pacino at his ability to give the spotlight to Depp rather than hog it for himself as usual. Pacino is used to playing high powered characters and is known for chewing up the scenery. Not so here. Al gives a nicely modulated performance and plays the hang-dog Lefty with true pathos. Everything in his life is sub-par and he plays a very sympathetic character this time. Excellent support is provided by Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, and James Russo as mobsters and Anne Heche as Mrs. Pistone.

As director, Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral) did an excellent job of showing the lower-level machinations of the mobsters, teaching us their everyday activities and lingo. One thing this film made me aware of was the perilous life these gangsters lead. When they die, it is suddenly and at their best friend's hand. Lefty goes into quite a bit of detail on this point. There is one scene where one faction outsmarts another that hopes to wipe them out. The aftermath will be something that puts this film outside of suitable material for the kiddies as it's as graphic as anything I've ever seen in a mobster movie.

Cinematography by Peter Sova takes advantage of the varying scenery from New York's underbelly to Miami Beach. Music is mainly disco hits from the late 70s, as has often been done in contemporary gangster films. The dialog, adapted by screenwriter Paul Attanasiano, sparkles. Listen to Donnie's explanation to his FBI chief about "Forget about it", for an example:

"Forget about it" is like if you agree with someone, you know, like "Raquel Welch is one great piece of @ss, forget about it." But then, if you disagree, like "A Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forget about it!" you know? But then, it's also like if something's the greatest thing in the world, like those peppers, "forget about it." But it's also like saying "Go to hell!" too. Like, you know, like "Hey Paulie, you got a one inch pecker?" and Paulie says "Forget about it!" Sometimes it just means forget about it.

The Columbia Tristar Special Edition DVD is presented in 2.35:1 theatrical format and runs 127 minutes. There are many special features, including a full-length director's commentary, two featurettes, deleted scenes, an isolated music score, several language choices, subtitles, and other goodies. Joseph D. Pistone is still under the Federal Witness Protection Program and has a $500,000 bounty from the New York mob.

Donnie Brasco is a refreshing look at a genre that has too often been relegated to "B" movies.

Other great undercover/gangster movies I recommend include:

Goodfellas

The Godfather

Deep Cover

Thanks for reading. Enjoy a good film soon!