Fuhgettaboudit

Donnie Brasco, starring Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, Michael Madsen, Anne Heche and Bruno Kirby. Directed by Mike Newell. Rated R for sometimes explicit violence, language and brief nudity.

* * * * * out of five

Films like Goodfellas and Public Enemy work on their own level, Goodfellas for it's violent ambition towards the genre, Public Enemy for it's old-time-Hollywood, though often brilliant, cliche. <i<Donnie Brasco</i> works on it's own level. A level which can only fairly be described as poetic. It is a moving story delving into the depths of loyalty and friendship that, in it's reality, packs a real, brilliantly cinematic punch.

Last year we had In Too Deep with Omar Epps and LL Cool J (even the fantastic Stanley Tucci). It is, in politically incorrect terms, pretty much a fictional, black-casted version of this film. Though it is a good movie, surprisingly so, I feel it comes nowhere near the audacity this holds. In In Too Deep, the story played out as mainstream, though sophisticated, entertainment, as opposed to here, where we have a deep character study of sorts.

Depp gives what is easily his greatest performance as Joe Pistone, FBI agent gone undercover to infiltrate himself into the mob. What he didn't expect was the psychological aspects he would face, such as being able to relate to these people, and for a sense of the term, become them. You can see the transformation that Pistone takes throughout the film through Depp's nearly perfect portrayal of the seduction of the setting and the emotional bond he would develop with Lefty (Pacino, who is, as usual, great, but in a much more supporting performance than we are used to seeing him in), the low-key wiseguy who always wanted to be a big shot, but never got the respect. Pacino is known for his mobster films, such as The Godfather trilogy and Heat.

So heavily slick, so extremely enthralling, so particularly real and powerful, this is essentially a masterpiece of fiction hiding behind the label of "based on the true story". If it was not true, I would call it implausible. Based on Pistone's own memoirs, and rounded out to make a not only coherent, but masterfully crafted feature, Donnie Brasco is one of the 90s' best mobster films. Hell, one of the best ever made (right alongside The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Goodfellas, and Public Enemy). There have been some bad mobster flicks (King of New York), many more mere average ones (Casino, Carlito's Way), and some above average spectacles (The Roaring Twenties), but this one? Forget about it. A+