Review of Donnie Brasco (1997) by Miranda J — 16 Jun 2009

An excellent mob drama that doesn't try to be a Godfather or Goodfellas. Its interesting to see Pacino as this kind of character, one who isn't in control, and desperatly wants to be. At first, Lefty sees Depp's Donnie as a way to build himself up the ladder of power, but as power eventually begins to shift, he's hurt but not suprised when Donnie is given more power than he.

Pacino and Depp are wonderful together, although Depp has a few scenes where he sees to slip in and out of his accent a bit. Newell's direction isn't flashy, and focuses on the characters, their feelings, motivations, and situations rather than overloading on melodramatic shootouts or hyperkinetic style.

One real problem in the film is that it doesn't always feel like a 70s period story, the period cars & outfits are here, but the general feel of the film was a more 90s one, and that took me out of the story a bit.