Donnie Brasco

UK Release Date: 30 April 1997
Certification: 18
Director: Mike Newell
Cast: Johnny Depp, Anne Heche, Bruno Kirby, Michael Madsen, Al Pacino, James Russo

Rating: 66%

Review:

With Johnny Depp and Al Pacino in leading roles it's no real surprise that the performances standout in Donnie Brasco. I believe this is the best acted role from Depp, bar Edward Scissorhands. Don't get me wrong he was made to play Jack Sparrow and I love how vibrantly he plays that character but he gets to show that he can act in this film. He portrays conflicting characteristics at a similar ability in the space of a few scenes. His arc is engaging, a realistic progression of his headspace at the time. The mob film is what made Al Pacino one of the greats. So whilst it's not anything revolutionary compared to the rest of his filmography, Pacino still delivers a worthy supporting performance. There's depth, displaying a slight comedic side as well as skittish tendencies. Michael Madsen is also great but I couldn't separate his character from that of his in Reservoir Dogs. 

The script is really tight, with strong dialogue all around. It allows for the story to be told in a coherent fashion. The decision to have the audience aware of who the undercover FBI agent is, worked as it made certain scenes fairly tense. On the other hand, the pacing did feel a little off with the second hour of the film moving seamlessly along due to intriguing story beats. That may also be done to an underdeveloped opening to the film for me. Donnie Brasco could have done with another 15 minutes, simply to explain the background of the world the characters are in. 

There's nothing inherently wrong with Donnie Brasco, I just feel like I've seen the film before. In fairness, it does feel a little grittier and more underground compared to other mafia stories that came out around the time, portraying the mob as lowlife criminals struggling to get by. Their life isn't romanticised. However, the film lacks any real originality, nothing particularly new or inventive is displayed on screen. I couldn't help but see Goodfellas during parts of the runtime. For example, if I closed my eyes and listened to Bruno Kirby's performance I heard Joe Pesci - Mike Newell's first choice for the role was Pesci and that was apparent throughout.