1997

June 3, 2004
March 15, 1997
TMC
USA
English
127 minutes

In 1978, the US government waged a war against organized crime. One man was left behind the lines -- DONNIE BRASCO.

After he successfully infiltrates the mafia, an undercover agent for the FBI finds himself torn between duty and friendship for the gangster who vouched for him.

Al Pacino. Johnny Depp. Still great after all these years. Pacino stays away from all his acting ticks that have made him unbearable to watch. There is scarcely a "hoo haw" in sight. Depp is fantastic as always. Pacino is really a middle-management guy in the mafia and is just as unhappy about someone else getting the credit for his good job as any IBM employee in a cubicle. Ended more abruptly than I remember from the first viewing. Anne Heche good as Depp's wife. Pacino is actually warm and fatherly.

~~Oscar Nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

8.3 Critical Consensus
***^ Ebert
*** Berardinelli
*** Halliwells