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).
Produced by Mandalay. Released theatrically in the USA
December 27, 1996.
Al Pacino and Johnny Depp are terrific together in this
excellent Mafia drama from director Mike Newell. Pacino, who
played undercover cop Frank Serpico 25 years before, now
becomes the hunted Mafia man whom undercover cop Johnny Depp
is after. The film was coproduced by Barry Levinson and the
screenplay was written by Paul Attanasio, two of the people
responsible for the extraordinary television police drama
HOMICIDE.
"...Downbeat, dark-humored and disturbing....[The
film] delivers the somber flipside to CASINO's snazzy high
rollers..." -- 4 out of 4 stars
"...Crackling good....The best crime movie in a long
while....It's full of life..."
"...A wonderfully dense, clever, and moving gangland
thriller....[An] engrossing movie..." -- Rating: A-
"...An ambitious film with an effective and
modulated performance by Al Pacino..."
"...For Johnny Depp, DONNIE BRASCO breaks new
ground; he seems a little older here, a little wearier, and
he makes the transition from stoolie to friend one subtle
step at a time..."
