plays a member of the mob you end up with sympathy with him due to his loyalty to Donnie Depp . Pacino plays Lefty well. The movie is very funny in parts and sad in others. Lefty is a very funny character and is hard not to like. Michael Madsen is my favourite actor and although you don't see enough of Sonny Black in contrast to his importance in the book, what you do see of him is enjoyable. Although the film ends differently to that in the book it shows the workings of the mafia well. A splendid over-looked movie with a great cast and an atmosphere that drags you in. Yet you have to read the brilliant book to get the full story.

touching dramatic moments and also some intense moments since it's a story about undercover cop . Michael Madsen is also worth mentioning, though his character was a very unlikable person, I still think that he did a great job and that this is his second best performance after Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs.

remember for a long time. its not as good as other gangster masterpieces such as casino, god father, departed, good fellas and so forth. but this film will leave you wanting more gangster action. i haven't seen the directors cut version of this yet unfortunately but hoping to do so soon......... 10/10........j.d Seaton

its very success in portraying the mafia as fundamentally pathetic, whereas most gangster pictures at least partly buy into the glamorous myth. But for me, this a superior film to Scorcese's 'Goodfellas', with a faint note of very black comedy that sounds behind the slaughter. Recommended.

characters in the two films are based on the same real people, so we get to see them from two different perspectives.As to comparisons with "Reservoir Dogs": It is well to remember that Tarantino's film is itself derivative of Ringo Lam's "City on Fire". In fact, the 'undercover cop in the mob" film has become almost a separate genre in Hong Kong, the most recent hit in the tradition being "Infernal Affairs", remade by Scorcese as "The Departed"; the point being that Hong Kong pretty much set the bench-mark for this type of film, and so American films working the same material can't help but use elements originally developed by the Chinese.As to the film itself: It relies very heavily on the performances of Depp and Pacino, and fortunately, they are brilliant. The final conversation between their characters is tense because Pacino plays it so straight, and his character talks in such clipped, abbreviated sentences, we can no longer read him any better than Depp's character can. A lot of the film's tension derives from the announced fact that when the mob decides to give you a bullet-ridden retirement, it always sends your best friend to do it. There are weaknesses in the film, principally in the script. the narrative threads leading to certain events are left unclear and unresolved; and certain connections screaming to be made are left unnoticed.But Depp and Pacino are a winning team, largely because they operate with the same idea of what it means to develop character as an actor. We know they're them, so to speak, Depp and Pacino; but they're also equally Donnie and Lefty.A tense, occasionally amusing, and ultimately very sad elegy for an over-the-hill hit-man with no cards left to play.

knack of making great films.Overall, I was pleased at this film. If I never heard of a movie before, I generally don't see it. But since the plot looked appealing, I did. I'm glad I did because it's a great film. I rate this film 9/10.

the group seems to lack conviction, soon builds up a watchable father-son relationship. Criticisms of the film - such as the forced nature of Pistone's behaviour becoming absorbed into the Mafia mindset - are largely irrelevant as this is a "based on a true story" outing.Engrossing and eminently watchable, with first-rate lead performances and able back-up from Michael Madsen, this is an overlooked and extremely worthwhile film. The only complaint? Depp's first scenes, wearing the most fake-looking moustache in the history of the movies. But it detracts little from what is a highly skilled picture. So Fergeddaboudid!

from heaven and it does not take long before Lefty trusts Donnie completely. The problem for FBI-agent Donnie is that he's starting to like Lefty as well.The movie is a gangster movie but has its focus on the relationship between Lefty and Donnie and sometimes on other relationships. Donnie, or Joe, is married to Maggie Anne Heche who he hardly sees. He can not exactly tell her what he is doing and sometimes stays away for a couple of weeks. She pretends she is a widow to deal with it. We also learn about the relationships in the mafia family, including new boss Sonny Michael Madsen .The fact that this movie is more about the people and their relationships than about the events is a good thing. Sure movies like 'Goodfellas' are terrific but to see something a little different from time to time is nice as well. If you make a movie about people and their emotions you need to have some good performers to make the scenes believable. I already mentioned Depp but of course we have Pacino here as well. His Lefty is a memorable character and it is Pacino who makes sure that happens, but the fact that Depp is as good and especially believable as heavyweight Pacino says something. Of course we have Madsen who was probably the only right actor for the macho mobster Sonny.Director Mike Newell seems to be a strange choice for this sometimes very violent and bloody story since he directed the terrific but sweet 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'. Fortunately it turns out he is the right man for this material, probably because its real subject is not gangsters but, like I said before, the relationships between the characters. 'Donnie Brasco' has enough to offer for people who like the gangster-genre, but even if you are normally not a big fan there is still a chance you might like it.

family as the film so aptly demonstrates.It must have been like old home week for Johnny Depp who made his acting bones playing a youthful undercover cop in the television series 21 Jump Street. But the difference between Officer Tom Hanson going undercover for a couple of weeks at some high school and agent Pistone living and working with the wise guys for five years afraid of being found out is the difference between Donald Duck and Donald Trump.Depp's performance as Pistone/Brasco is conveyed as much by body language and closeups as with dialog. He'd like very much to return to his wife and three daughters and live a normal life, but the demands of the job make it impossible. According to Wikipedia's article on Pistone he was uniquely qualified for his undercover assignment having lived and grown up among wise guys in New Jersey. He was familiar with all the Mafia culture and could blend in easily. The strain shows on him in his scenes with wife Anne Heche, only someone with a real gift for acting could make those scenes so real.Depp is matched by Al Pacino as the luckless Lefty Ruggiero. In the Mafia code he vouches for Depp and if Depp betrays trust in any way, Pacino's marked for death.Lefty Ruggiero is a hired killer with as he boasts 27 contract kills to his credit. Yet he's also a family man with a lot of problems as is Depp. Even though the man is in fact evil, Pacino does make him a likable sort. It's why Depp is dreading the day he's out from undercover because it means certain death for a man who's grown to be his friend. Except when the crew that Depp and Pacino are part of do ambush a rival group before in fact they do it to them, Donnie Brasco is a fairly non violent film for a gangster story. Donnie Brasco emphasizes character development and a good script as opposed to bloody mayhem.I think you'll like the story about a man who turned a friend into the biggest mutt in the history of the Mafia.