[A] powerful Mafia genre film with impressive star leads and emotional punch.
Donnie Brasco (1997)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:15
Fresh:11
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: A stark, nuanced portrait of life in organized crime, bolstered by strong performances from Al Pacino and Johnny Depp.
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
Although perhaps familiar in its outer trappings, Pacino's fine work is the key to the film succeeding to the extent that it does.
Unfortunately, the story isn't inventive and Newell's methodical approach to it verges on monotony.
Though the outline of what the film has tried to do is visible, so little feels at stake emotionally that anyone intending to care about these characters would be well advised, for want of a better phrase, to simply fhuggedaboudit.
For all its treacheries, twists and turns, nothing really comes as a surprise.
An affirmation that the director, Mike Newell, has a gift for talkative, intelligent films that make his actors shine.
The movie has many human qualities and contains what will be remembered as one of Pacino's finest scenes.
Pacino cans the showboating bluster and gives a gently nuanced portrait of a simple man in decline.
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:
Newell & Bardem Come Down with "Cholera"
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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