Movie review: ‘Donnie Brasco’

FloridaGator80

When I started this blog back in 2014, I didn’t really wanted to review gangster films. Martin Scorsese’s efforts are overly violent and I’m not qualified to review the first two “Godfathers,” which are near-perfect American cinema. Still, after initially resisting, I’ve later reviewed such gangster fare as “The Departed,” which is top-notch filmmaking (click here to read my review) and even gangster comedy with “My Blue Heaven” with Steve Martin (click here to read my review). So, here’s my look at “Donnie Brasco” because of Al Pacino and Johnny Depp. It’s not a great gangster film, but it’s truly solid and although it’s not right up there with Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola, it is a somewhat little-remembered gem in the gangster film treasury. Watch it or watch it again – it’s out there in today’s streaming world.

‘Donnie Brasco’
(1997; 127 minutes; rated R; directed by Mike Newell and starring Al Pacino, Johnny Depp and Michael Madsen)

GOING THE DISTANCE UNDERCOVER

(NOTE: I expanded this review with a little more opinion, some more trivia and the updating of links on Dec. 30, 2017. I again expanded the review on March 7, 2025.)

The first time I saw “Donnie Brasco” I didn’t think much of Al Pacino’s effort, especially given his otherworldly talent as an actor. But just as some films have to be watched more than once for the intended effect (take “A Christmas Story” – click here to read my review – or “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” for me — click here to read my review), another viewing or two of “Donnie Brasco” let me appreciate the depth of his work here and the fact that this is a better film than you might initially believe.

Not great, mind you. But good, actually very good.

You have to remember that this a movie “based” on the facts of the operation in which real life FBI agent Joseph Dominick ‘Joe’ Pistone became “Donnie Brasco” and infiltrated the mob to the point he almost became an inducted member to the Mafia. The film “Donnie Brasco” condenses and dramatizes facts, so don’t look at this as a detailed documentary … but it is better in mob facts than some “based on” films.

In fact, “Donnie Brasco” was nominated for an Oscar for its screenplay by Paul Attanasio that was adapted from a previously published story. So, obviously it is much better than I thought with my initial impression.

Back to the film …

Johnny Depp plays FBI agent “Joe Pistone” in an operation to infiltrate organized crime in New York City. Depp hangs out at places where mob guys hang out. Enter Pacino, who plays “Benjamin ‘Lefty’ Ruggiero,” a self-confessed murdering mobster who’s looking to sell a diamond. Since Depp’s cover is a knowledgeable jewelry thief, the two begin talking and ultimately Depp is taken under Pacino’s mob-mentoring wing.

Depp works his way into the crime “family” and ultimately passes along priceless information about the mob and its operations. He goes so far as to be considered for full status as a “made” guy. However, his undercover career ends before that happens.

Here’s a look at your two headliners:

  • An Oscar winner and eight-time nominee (not for this one) Pacino’s turn as “Lefty” is played almost like “Lefty” was your basic street-hustling schmo. Pacino as “Lefty” looks and acts like a roach scurrying around the baseboards of the underworld. He also does very well by having a chip on his narrow shoulders. Pacino is the greatest gangster actor ever with “The Godfather” (sorry, Marlon, but your “Don Vito” can’t hold a candle to Al’s “Don Michael”), but this role is a winner because he completely immerses himself in it. My other favorite Pacino films include “Scarface,” “Heat” (click here for my review) and one of his few stinkers is the little remembered Formula One driver in “Bobby Deerfield” (click here my review). He was nominated for, among others, “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “Dick Tracy” and both “Godfathers,” He won for “Scent of a Woman,” although I believe Denzel Washington in “Malcolm X” was better and more deserving.
  • Three-time Oscar nominee (not for this one) Depp has a much more complicated job. He plays three roles: the FBI agent; the gangster; and as a husband and father. Depp does a good job here, but the family angle brings out his best. His good-guy “Joe Pistone” dissolves more and more into the “Donnie Brasco” personality. Four stars for Depp here. My favorite roles from and efforts by (and the sometimes incredibly odd) Depp include “Blow” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” Otherwise, I’m not a fan of his “Pirates” franchise, where he earned one nomination for “Pearl,” or his work with Tim Burton. His other nominations were for “Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” and “Finding Neverland.”

Although Pacino and Depp dominate “Donnie Brasco,” the supporting cast does an excellent job and makes sure this mob picture doesn’t wander into the land of mediocrity that so many before and so many to come will find themselves. Let’s look at …

  • Michael Madsen, who is a favorite of Quentin Tarantino (“Reservoir Dogs” and the “Kill Bill” films), plays “Dominick ‘Sonny Black’ Napolitano,” the mob crew leader to whom Pacino reports. It takes you a little time to appreciate it in this one, but Madsen has the ability to project a true menace and he does in spades. I remember Madsen first from “Free Willy,” which our son loved back in the day. He was also in the horrid remake of “The Getaway” and was interesting in “Sin City.” He even had a small part in the iconic “WarGames” (click here to read my review). Madsen is a prolific as well as versatile actor and since the first in 1982, he has 324 acting credits spanning five decades through early 2025 and others in production.
  • I have to say the actor who looks like a fish out of water is Bruno Kirby as “Nicky Santoro.” This is the gangster Joe Pesci played in “Casino” seven years earlier with far more menace and violence that much better reflected the real gangster. I just can’t believe Kirby in this one as a mob sidekick, much less the criminal he was playing. That’s not say I don’t like Kirby or that he was bad, it’s just that when he’s on screen, you’re waiting for him to do a stand-up routine for the guys. I liked Kirby best as the longsuffering officer supervising Robin Williams in “Good Morning, Vietnam” and he was in “When Harry Met Sally” and “City Slickers.” He played young “Peter Clemenza” in “The Godfather: Part II.” Sadly, Kirby died of leukemia in 2006 at the young-ish age of 57.
  • Val Avery plays “Trafficante” (in real life, reputed Florida mob boss Santo Trafficante Jr.) but doesn’t get much time here to do much. It’s a familiar story for this actor as he’s had had roles important to plots including “The Wanderers” (click here for my review), “Cobra” and was smooth “Easy Money” with Rodney Dangerfield (click here to read my review). He died in 2009 at 85.
  • An Oscar nominee (not for this one), Paul Giamatti has a small but well-acted role as “FBI technician.” I truly enjoy most of Giamatti’s work, so you can’t judge him by anything here, so check out his much meatier roles. Giamatti was also in the mega-violent “Shoot ’Em Up” (click here to read my look at it), the critically acclaimed “Sideways” and “Saving Private Ryan.” I really liked him in the kids flick “Big Fat Liar” (click here to read my review) and he was nominated for “Cinderella Man.”
  • Also well worth mentioning is Robert Miano as “Al ‘Sonny Red’ Indelicato” is suitably menacing, too, in a tight, small role. You couldn’t ask for more from an actor with a role so small. He was in “Safehouse” and “Fast & Furious”
  • The biggest wasted effort is by Primetime Emmy nominee Anne Heche as “Maggie Pistone,” the wife of the undercover agent. A better actress could have conveyed the deep emotions needed for this role, but, sadly, they gave it to Heche. She makes an attempt but falls short. She was also in “Wag the Dog” (click here to read my review) and the remake of “Psycho.” She earned her nomination for “Gracie’s Choice.” Heche died in a vehicle crash at 53 in 2022.

Throughout the film, Depp has to fight the internal battle of being a law enforcement officer while beating up people and even being part of the dismemberment of the body of a mobster killed by Madsen. It’s compressed from a variety of real-life mob stories.

Despite the profanity and violence, you can enjoy this as a drama (so don’t look at this one for a breezy, light weekend evening gangster flick).

A couple of historical notes include that, unlike in the film, which infers that “Lefty” was killed by the mob, in real life “Lefty” was arrested, charged and ultimately was released from prison and died of cancer (no mob rubout here). His scene of leaving his wedding ring behind to go to a meeting where he knows he’ll be killed is poignant but didn’t happen – that happened in real life to the gangster in real life portrayed by Madsen. He was killed in retaliation for promoting “Donnie Brasco” within the Mafia’s ranks.

“Donnie Brasco” was the 54th ranked film at the domestic box office in 1997 with $44.9 million in receipts, according to Box Office Mojo. It had a budget of $35 million and combined domestic and worldwide box office was $124 million, according to Wiki. It’s no surprise, but the No. 1 film of the year was “Titanic” with $600.7 million at the domestic box office.

Additional cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Depp’s full birth name is John Christopher Depp II and his nickname is “Colonel;” Madsen’s middle name is Soren; Kirby’s birth name is Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu Jr.; Heche’s middle name was Celeste; and Giamatti’s full birth name is Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti.
  • Depp spoke to the real Joseph Pistone in preparation for the role and even took a shooting class with the FBI.
  • Another interesting actor with a small role in this one is Gretchen Mol, who, in a small part, plays “Sonny’s Girlfriend.” She’s also in the poker flick “Rounders,” but basically fumbled that choice role (click here to read my review).
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “In an interview, Joseph D. Pistone, said that he didn’t see his family for at least two years while he was undercover.”
  • On the real-life front, Madsen impulsively got married on a two-day break from filming in 1996 (he had been divorced the year before). Pacino, according to Madsen, didn’t care for the impulsive marriage, but the couple remains married today and have three children.
  • It is said that the film version of Pacino’s “Lefty” is an amalgam of the real-life gangster and his boss “Sonny Black.”
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “Joseph D. Pistone said of the film, ‘If I had one thing to say, there should have been more Anne Heche in the actual script.’”

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