It seemed foolish for Al Pacino to re-sign for mob duty for the 1997 drama “Donnie Brasco.”
How could he possibly top “The Godfather,” and why even try?
But Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero, the real-life wiseguy Pacino portrays in the film, is no Godfather. He’s a mid-level shnook desperate for respect.
He gets that – and a second son – when an undercover FBI agent befriends him in order to help bring his buddies down.
The journey isn’t an original one, but crisp acting and a sturdy sense of disco-era New York make “Donnie Brasco” one of Pacino’s most lived in performances.
Johnny Depp plays Joe Pistone, an FBI agent working under the name Donnie Brasco to infiltrate the New York-based Bonanno crime family.
He quickly connects with Lefty (Pacino), an aging mobster whose bluster hides an insecurity about his place in the pecking order.
Lefty is a made man without a nickel to his name or the respect of his bosses. He’s even asked to perform menial tasks like caring for a kept lion – a subplot that might have been based on real events just plays silly here.
Lefty and Donnie forge an awkward father-son relationship, but while Donnie starts rising up the ranks it looks as if Lefty doesn’t figure in the mob’s immediate future.
But can Donnie keep his cover long enough to give the FBI all the evidence it needs to bring Lefty and co. down? And what if it means Lefty will be whacked for allowing Donnie into the family?
Lefty is a heartless killer, but Pacino makes him into someone you can’t help pity. He can’t catch a break, and his slumped shoulders and unruly hair bespeak a man as beaten down as a salesman who can’t ever close the big deal.
Consider this a turning point in Depp’s career, a moment when he proved his range – and charisma – could keep up with any screen icon.
Playing a role originally conceived for Tom Cruise, Depp anchors the film by letting us see both sides of the Mafia coin. He’s attracted to the system’s machismo, an aggressive mien he tries applying to his struggling marriage.
It’s here where “Donnie Brasco” falters.
It’s bad enough to keep hearing the term “fuggetaboutit” bandied about – at this point in screen history it feels as cliched as making someone an offer they can’t refuse. But watching Donnie and his frustrated wife (Anne Heche) battle over where the cereal boxes go in their cupboards isn’t enough to sketch a marriage on the brink.
A subsequent marriage counselor sequence should have been discarded entirely, yet Heche still resonates despite the shallowness of the role.
Director Mike Newell eventually reveals the ugly side of mob living when Donnie must help his pals dispose of some bodies with a few rudimentary tools. But the director’s ability to tease period details into the film without overwhelming is typical of his restrained approach.
“Donnie Brasco” is a fine addition to the mob movie genre, and further evidence Pacino can dazzle when he decides to lose himself in a role.
(Photo: Johnny Depp holds his own against Al Pacino in the affective mob movie “Donnie Brasco.”)
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