Whe a true story comes along with a gangster-related plotline you can be sure Hollywood will come along and buy the rights, it happened with the untouchables and it has happened here.
Depp plays an undercover FBI called Donnie agent who infiltrates a mob family, in order to bring it down from the inside. Problem being as he gets deeper into the mob culture he starts to question his motives and also looses touch with his real-life.
Pacino plays Lefty, a long serving mob hit-man who happens to be unsatisfied with his life, seeing others getting praised when he stands in the relitive shadows.
So, the characters become friends and their lives become entangled to the point where Lefty's life is in danger if Donnie was ever found out.
Donnie knows this and his actions become more criminal, more uncharacteristic and yet more focused on the well being of his friend, that he sees his life spiralling out of control, his mission not yet over.
What is he to do?
Depp gives one of his best performances, while Pacino canters along nicely as an actor of his ability should with this less than demanding role.
This film is an original one in some respects, with a look a mob life form those on the bottom of the rung, rather than the heads of power, which gives it a very different appeal to the likes of Scarface or The Godfather.
Because of it's slightly watered down violence it would suit those who found the aformentioned films a bit too much to take.
Overall, a very enjoyable film definitely for fans of Depp or Pacino but also has a much wider appeal.
This DVD is only let down by the limited extra features. It contains a trailer and making of, which do not really contribute to the viewers enjoyment whatsoever, a real waste of time.
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Donnie Brasco [1997]
Based on a memoir by former undercover cop Joe Pistone (whose daring and unprecedented
... more
infiltration of the New York Mob scene earned him a place in the federal witness protection program), Donnie Brasco is like a de-romanticised, de-mythologised versio...
Donnie Brasco [1997]
Based on a memoir by former undercover cop Joe Pistone (whose daring and unprecedented
... more
infiltration of the New York Mob scene earned him a place in the federal witness protection program),Donnie Brascois like a de-romanticised, de-mythologised version ...
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