Donnie Brasco (1997)
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Donnie Brasco Movie Review
Donnie Brasco is a 1997 crime film directed by Mike Newell and starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino. It’s an okay crime movie.
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“A wise guy’s always right;
even when he’s wrong, he’s right“
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An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and finds himself identifying more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one. This is one of those stories that are ripe for the cinematic treatment, but that doesn’t mean that they are great stories. In fact, this one is so predictable and so typical that I got every plot point and development from a mile away. It’s just not exciting in the slightest, which was unfortunate as the concept demanded a more thrilling approach to storytelling.
The biggest reason to see Donnie Brasco is for the performances. Al Pacino is very good in a typical role for him. Yes, he is definitely strong, but I am getting sick and tired of seeing him play the same character every single time. It is Johnny Depp who steals this movie from him in a big way as it is the protagonist who is the most interesting, though still underdeveloped character with underexplained motifs throughout.
But Depp at least elevated this role with a terrific performance that is both layered and very believable. I would never in a million years imagine him in a movie like this, but he did manage to surprise everybody, delivering a stellar performance that should have garnered him an Oscar nomination as it just might be his career-best turn.
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Donnie Brasco is very long at two and a half hours and I felt that runtime throughout. It’s not a particularly engaging movie despite strong dialogue and acting performances. The dramatic elements worked for me, but the crime ones did not as the violence in this movie is overwhelming and needlessly graphic. With stronger characterization and a shorter runtime, it would have been a much more effective feature film.
Donnie Brasco is worth seeing for the main Johnny Depp performance alone. On the surface, it is hard to imagine Depp in a crime movie, but he surprisingly delivered a layered, powerful performance that might be his career-best one. He was much more interesting here than Al Pacino himself, who was typecast. The concept here was a good one, but the overall film is too long at two and a half hours, too predictable in its plot beats, overly violent and not thrilling enough. With a shorter runtime and stronger characterization, it would have been a much better movie.
My Rating – 3
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