A tense, sharp and compelling character study, Newell's film is a worthy addition to the Mob-movie canon.
Comment
01/26/06
Donnie Brasco (1997)
87
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:52
Fresh:45
Rotten:7
Average Rating:7.8/10
Consensus: A stark, nuanced portrait of life in organized crime, bolstered by strong performances from Al Pacino and Johnny Depp.
Theatrical Release:00-00-0000
Synopsis: Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI mole who integrates himself into the Mafia pecking order by posing as "jewel man" Donnie Brasco. He finds his loyalties divided when Lefty Ruggiero, a jaded hit... [More]
Reviews for Donnie Brasco
Top CriticIt's tempting to think Pacino stopped trying sometime in the mid-1980s. But watch Lefty's elegiac final scene and you might conclude that it's not Al's ability that's dimmed, rather it's the imagination of casting directors that's grown stale.
06/20/09
Top CriticPacino's outstanding work elevates this to the crime movie pantheon.
01/01/00
Top CriticIt's hard to develop any sympathy for the film's nasty manipulative humans, despite the best efforts of all involved in this newest slant on the mean-streets crowd.
06/05/02
Unfortunately, the story isn't inventive and Newell's methodical approach to it verges on monotony.
08/14/02
[Pacino's] turn as a low-level mobster is his most relaxed and charming work in years.
01/01/00
Top CriticClick to read the article
01/01/00
Top CriticA consistently absorbing and intelligent adult entertainment.
01/01/00
A pleasant surprise.
01/01/00
Just misses ranking in the upper echelon of mob movies.
05/09/07
One fine little character study about crime, friendship and loyalty in gangland New York City.
01/01/00
For all its treacheries, twists and turns, nothing really comes as a surprise.
01/01/00
Shows that solid acting and writing can salvage even material that has been covered by much better filmmakers.
08/26/03
Depp is convincing as the role-playing agent who loses track of his real identity.
02/26/02
May be the best mob movie in years that was made by somebody whose name is not Scorsese or Coppola.
01/01/00
Takes us into a world that the movies frequently open to us, but somehow this trip seems more real and less glamorized than most.
01/01/00
Powerful, driving, incisive and fascinating, Donnie Brasco paints a convincing portrait of a man's life undercover.
02/27/01
An affirmation that the director, Mike Newell, has a gift for talkative, intelligent films that make his actors shine.
01/01/00
Top CriticDonnie Brasco manages to sidestep the obvious and dwell on the intriguing.
05/14/03
Depp is as good as I've seen him, and Pacino is simply astonishing.
01/01/00
Latest News for Donnie Brasco
August 16, 2006:
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May 09, 2005:
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