Donnie Brasco is a crime drama released by TriStar Pictures in 1997 to a whopping box office success and is directed by Mike Newell (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire), written by Paul Attanasio (who was nominated for their screenplay for this movie) and starring Al Pacino (Devils Advocate) and Johnny Depp (Blow). Also, in supporting work we have industry veterans Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo, and Anne Heche. This film is adapted from the book Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia by Joseph D. Pistone, and Richard Woodley. And is loosely based on the true story of Pistone coming into a renowned crime family in New York City during the 70s. Donnie Brasco (Depp) is an undercover agent that has forfeited having a traditional life with a family, a wife (Heche), and children, to be recognized as a lowly jewel crook in the criminal underbelly. Brasco leaves impressions on his counterparts and gets the awareness of an older and aging quickly Mafia hitman, Lefty Ruggiero (Pacino). Lefty is in dismay because of being passed up for a promotion by Sonny Black (Madsen) and forgotten about, considering the loyalty and actions dealt out on his behalf, the labor put in for the Mafia family. Lefty supports Brasco as a person worthy of reliance and takes Brasco under his wing and brings Brasco into the circle of criminals and murderers. As this escapade, goes, further along, Brasco will be thwarted by the harsh reality of knowing there is a point in becoming too close and connected to the people and environment around you (blurring the lines of reality living separate lives) and the situations that outweigh you, will bring dire ramifications for everyone involved. The pros for me in this movie are the academy caliber acting, screenplay, and storytelling. Pacino is that of a goliath on set and in the earliest impressions of this artist, we can see that on the canvas. This movie is no hiccup and its identity is Pacino for me in this movie. It's like watching a priest give a sermon at a church knowing how certain and devoted they are in their part. The cadence, delivery, and charisma are at their best for Pacino in this role, and is amazing to watch Pacino work on screen and on familiar grounds. Depp with another 90s banger is as persuasive as a father/criminal crossover eaten up by his work that affects the relationship he has with his family and the realism that is the situation Pistone is in. Depp shows us acting chops in this role and compliments Pacino well as the co-captain of this feature. Lastly, acting-wise, Madsen, and Heche are cast well and execute their parts perfectly. Madsen is born to play a role like this and it shows through the grit of his voice and the swagger of his body language. And Heche is a conflicted wife/mother who is paying the price for the career her husband has chosen and expresses herself in a revealing and valid way. The pros for me in this movie continue with its immersing story and within this story is a finely adapted screenplay that presents us with genuine surprises with character dooms and how actions are carried out by characters (Brasco, Lefty, Sonny) and the dialogue/conversations they have with each other gives us a fluid motion of events that are served with intensity and craftsmanship their own. And for this movie to have gotten a nomination from the academies makes every sense when we see the events on screen unfold and how they're executed. I appreciated this aspect of the film a lot and overall there were more positive takeaways than negative (if any) for me in this movie. All in all Donnie Brasco is part of a genre that has so many movies (maybe that is one of my only negatives) and by the time I finally saw this one I had been conditioned to movies like these. Fortunately, Donnie Brasco has a firm grasp on the story that is being told and the entire crew nails their mark. This movie was released in the late 90s and has aged wonderfully and is worth viewing for the awesome performances and taut screenplay that gives us surprising dramatics and lively dialogue. I thought how could I have waited so long to see this movie, I am more than glad I got around to seeing this one because even in the thick of flicks that are similar to this, it's never guaranteed what sort of result you're going to get. The result of this movie is a damn good one even if there had been better (greater) ones before or after it, Donnie Brasco to this day demands your attention and is worth watching. I more than recommend this movie and is one I look forward to watching in the future. Bang bang!

Donnie Brasco is a good exponent of 90's mafia cinema, with loyalties, betrayals, murders, fraudulent businesses, drugs, etc. The most notable thing is the performance of the great Al Pacino, who delivers, as expected, under the company of a rising Johnny Depp. Great photography, although something typical and classic of the 90's. The direction could have been much better. The editing is quite slow, exhibiting the high dramatic load of the story. It's not boring, but it's a slow-cooking movie. Recommendable.

It's a film that uses most of the conventions of mafia cinema in a somewhat generic way; If you compare it to Scorsese's films, for example, everything seems more calculated and without personality in Donnie Brasco, even the use of the city and the characters' relationship with spaces is much more limited, even so, I think it has some inspired moments. Even though it was formally generic most of the time, it was a very captivating film, I was really interested in this journey and transformation that Johnny Depp's character is undergoing, I really like his relationship with Al Pacino, it's something very true, it's Of course, the two actors were certainly very responsible for this, but I liked the daily rhythm that is created here, and how "Donnie" becomes absorbed by the work, to the point of preferring to be in the mafia; He infiltrates an institution that respects and cares more about him than the police institution itself.