Donnie Brasco (1997)

User Review

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  Barneyonmovies

  8 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: 'Donnie Brasco' is one of many "sensitive" gangster films to grace our screens since The Godfather, but it crucially does a far better job than most of building genuine empathy for its central characters. Yes thanks in large part to two very human performances from a young Johnny Depp as the undercover detective, and Al Pacino as the mobster - as well as a great script from Paul Attanasio - you really feel for these two individuals as victims of the enticing and imprisoning world of organised crime. We see how alluring it all seems to Depp against the structured and exploitative environment of his work under the law, and as he falls further in with Pacino, it becomes increasingly clear how trapping and chaotic things can be outside of the law too. The two's relationship is touching as they find a lot in common through both their tragedy and shared humour, and the result of all of that is a film very grounded in humanity where both the ideas of crime and crime-fighting (built well by director Mike Newell) are merely presented as factors interfering with the two's ultimate happiness and satisfaction.
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: That focus on the personal is occasionally at the expense of the plot, which can be confusing to follow at times.
  VERDICT: Buoyed by great central performances and a solid script, 'Donnie Brasco' is a very human gangster film about how two all-consuming worlds can affect two people's happiness and satisfaction.

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