Donnie Brasco

Obviously, you can’t infiltrate an evil organization if you are incapable of turning off your emotions while doing so. Joe Pistone went into action full of enthusiasm, only to find that he became close with a man from "the other side" while his family life was gradually drifting away. It was a decent premise, and the authors didn't come on too strong. The cast was very good, especially Anne Heche's performance pleasantly surprised me. All things considered, I can safely say that I liked the film and had fun the whole time. (26/07/2017)

A fast and relatively entertaining story, primarily relying en the excellent performances of the Al Pacino and Johnny Depp. The former does not play anything new, it’s still the same good-old mafia pose with a healthy dose of vulgar expressions and his own thinking, as we are used to. On the other hand, the transformation Depp undergoes during the film, is extremely interesting. The connections between the characters are carefully portrayed with perfect timing and polished dialogues. However, this story is already quite worn out, despite the fact that Al is not the big boss this time, he’s a small time outsider struggling with his life failure, but this does not change anything on his big heart. It's an entertaining film, but far from being as high-quality as other milestones. (09/12/2007)

Do mafia movies always have to be full of dead bodies, gangsters shooting out the windows of speeding cars, breaking arms, legs, drugs, sex....? Donnie Brasco is proof that this is not the case. A compelling film based mainly on convincing actors who portray interesting characters, on the development of their relationship, on their dialogues and on the emotions they evoke (thanks to Patrick Doyle's music). Many scenes are, dare I say, unforgettable. For example, Lefty's last one, feeding hamburgers to a lion, visiting a Chinese restaurant, a "little stop" or stylish mafia Christmas presents. I'd like to see an extended version. (29/05/2012)

The film has interesting characters, portrayed excellently, with the camera intriguingly capturing scenes. Everything is well-directed, the music is fitting, relationships are explored thoroughly, and emotions are present, but if the film doesn't grab you, it just doesn't grab you. I don't know what it was, but I just breezed through Donnie Brasco and it didn't leave much of an impression on me. I was probably just not in the right mood for this based-on-a-true-story film. (29/01/2014)

I have to point out that I expected a bit more. It’s not that the film disappointed me—far from it—but compared to other gangster films, it lacked a gripping storyline. I must say the performances were top-notch, though I didn't find Al Pacino as impressive as Michael Madsen. Madsen was, for me, the focal point of the entire film. Everyone praises Depp, but at times it seemed like he was overacting a bit. He delivered a solid performance, no doubt, but sometimes his expressions and overall demeanor didn’t sit well with me. However, that wasn’t the main issue. The primary problem with the film is that it gets dull at times. Not much happens, and the dialogues don’t really engage the viewer. When action does occur, it ends up feeling lackluster (the only proper action scene is the flawless ambush of the enemy mobsters in the basement, which I have to mention). Compared to The Infiltrator, which deals with similar themes, Brasco doesn’t hold up in many respects. It’s an above-average film with good performances, but that’s about where the positives end. I’ll give it four stars and 70% in the end. (13/02/2017)