Two powerful performances and a glimpse at the inner workings of the lower levels of the mob make this a must see.
Donnie Brasco (1997)
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... 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 man, takes him on as a protégé and places real trust in him. The two men form a friendship--and a criminal partnership--that jeopardizes Brasco's mission and obscures the boundaries between the law and the underworld. The film is based on the autobiography DONNIE BRASCO, MY UNDERCOVER LIFE IN THE MAFIA by former undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone. Directed by Mike Newell (FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL) and also starring Bruno Kirby (THE FRESHMAN, THIS IS SPINAL TAP), Michael Madsen (RESERVOIR DOGS) and Anne Heche (WAG THE DOG). [More]
Starring: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Anne Heche
Starring: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Anne Heche, Bruno Kirby, Zach Grenier
Director: Mike Newell
Director: Mike Newell
Screenwriter: Paul Attanasio
Story: Joseph Pistone, Richard Woodley
Producer: Mark Johnson, Barry Levinson, Louis Di Giaima, Gail Mutrux, Patrick McCormick, Alan Greespan
Reviews for Donnie Brasco
At 34, Depp has finally scored a film that doesn't ask him to play down his intelligence.
Pacino's performance is great and the story seems to have an interesting take on human nature, but the bland, mechanical direction make it not quite worthy of a full recommendation.
Tarnishes the shiny veneer of the mob we've seen in earlier movies, holding up its players not as criminal heroes but as cogs in a criminal machine, more worthy of compassion than cheers.
A standard-issue mobster movie that rises above the mire of its shopworn genre by showing the cracks in its characters' armor.
The movie has many human qualities and contains what will be remembered as one of Pacino's finest scenes.
Pacino's performance is sweet, crude, funny and haunted, and gives Donnie Brasco an unexpected emotional pull.
Together Pacino and Depp turn in two fascinating performances with believable macho chemistry between the two of them.
You get something far richer, if more unsettling, here than conventional crime drama's romanticism and easy analogies.
Pacino cans the showboating bluster and gives a gently nuanced portrait of a simple man in decline.
[A] powerful Mafia genre film with impressive star leads and emotional punch.
A tight, character-driven drama--a rarity in today's Hollywood, it's not to be missed.
Latest News for Donnie Brasco
August 16, 2006:
Character Actor Bruno Kirby, Dead at 57
You'd immediately recognize the face (and the voice) from movies like "City Slickers," "Good Morning Vietnam," and "When Harry Met Sally," but you... More...
February 17, 2006:
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International acting stud Javier Bardem and well-rounded movie director Mike Newell are about to bring the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Love in the Time of Cholera" to the... More...
May 09, 2005:
Trailer Bulletin: "Harry Potter Part 4" Teaser
Those who love and admire the Harry Potter books and films, which is pretty much all of us (to one degree or another), will want to head over to Apple Quicktime's Movie Trailer... More...
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