Donnie Brasco

1997 Drama

This drama about an undercover cop who learns the hidden dangers of working his way inside the mob was based on a true story. Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI agent who is given an assignment to infiltrate the Mafia; calling himself Donnie Brasco, he befriends Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), a low-level mob hit man whose personal life is in tatters. Lefty's marriage is falling apart, his son is a junkie, and his health is failing, which only adds to his growing disillusionment about having spent 30 years with the Mafia (and killing 26 people) with little to show for it. But in Donnie, Lefty sees someone who can succeed where he failed; he takes the young man under his wing, and under Lefty's tutelage Donnie quickly rises through the ranks of organized crime; however, the longer he plays the role of the gangster, the more Joe Pistone finds himself becoming Donnie Brasco in his increasingly rare off hours; it drives a wedge between himself and his wife (Anne Heche) and children, and Joe realizes that a break in character among the hoodlums he's come to know could mean a death sentence for himself and his family. Just as importantly, Joe has come to regard Lefty as a close and trusted friend, and Joe realizes that when the day comes where he has to turn in his Mob associates, he'll be ending Lefty's life as surely as if he put a slug in his head himself. The supporting cast includes Michael Madsen as Sonny, Lefty's boss, and Bruno Kirby as Nicky, one of Sonny's henchmen. The real-life Joe Pistone today lives under an assumed name with a 500,000-dollar contract on his life still in effect. more..

Director: Mike Newell

Starring: Al Pacino,Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo

Reviews

  • One terrific movie... Pacino and Depp are a match made in acting heaven, riffing off each other with astonishing subtlety and wit.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    19 January 2013

  • The true soul of the New York mob is portrayed in Donnie Brasco, a first-class Mafia thriller that is also in its way a love story -- perhaps director Mike Newell's best.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    19 January 2013

  • Pacino cans the showboating bluster and gives a gently nuanced portrait of a simple man in decline.

    Susan Wloszczyna - USA Today

    19 January 2013

  • It's the electric interplay between Pacino and Depp that will make it a Mob movie classic.

    - Entertainment Weekly

    19 January 2013

  • Crackling good... the best crime movie in a long while.

    Elvis Mitchell - The New York Times

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

    Academy Awards (1998)

     
  • Best Actor

    Boston Society of Film Critics Awards (1997)

  • Best Picture

    Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (1998)

     
  • Best Actor

    Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (1998)

     
  • Best Actor

    Chlotrudis Awards (1998)