Donnie Brasco

A fast and relatively entertaining story, primarily relying en the excellent performances of the Al Pacino and Johnny Depp. The former does not play anything new, it’s still the same good-old mafia pose with a healthy dose of vulgar expressions and his own thinking, as we are used to. On the other hand, the transformation Depp undergoes during the film, is extremely interesting. The connections between the characters are carefully portrayed with perfect timing and polished dialogues. However, this story is already quite worn out, despite the fact that Al is not the big boss this time, he’s a small time outsider struggling with his life failure, but this does not change anything on his big heart. It's an entertaining film, but far from being as high-quality as other milestones. (08.12.2007)

Müssen Mafia-Filme voll von Leichen, gebrochenen Armen und Beinen, Gangstern, die aus Fenstern von davonfahrenden Autos schießen, Drogen, Sex usw. sein? Donnie Brasco ist ein toller Beweis dafür, dass es nicht so sein muss. Dieser fesselnde Film basiert vor allem auf überzeugenden Schauspielern, die interessante Figuren darstellen, auf der Entwicklung ihrer Beziehungen, auf ihren Dialogen und Emotionen, welche sie (auch dank der Musik von Patrick Doyle) hervorrufen. Viele Szenen sind meiner Meinung nach unvergesslich: Zum Beispiel die letzte Szene von Lefty, das Füttern des Löwen mit Hamburgern, der Besuch vom chinesischen Restaurant, der "kleine Halt“ oder die Mafia-Weihnachtsgeschenke. Ich möchte den Extended Cut sehen. (29.05.2012)

Obviously, you can’t infiltrate an evil organization if you are incapable of turning off your emotions while doing so. Joe Pistone went into action full of enthusiasm, only to find that he became close with a man from "the other side" while his family life was gradually drifting away. It was a decent premise, and the authors didn't come on too strong. The cast was very good, especially Anne Heche's performance pleasantly surprised me. All things considered, I can safely say that I liked the film and had fun the whole time. (26.07.2017)

The film has interesting characters, they are excellently played, the camera captures the scenes interestingly, everything is skillfully handled by the director, the music is fitting, the relationships are thoroughly explored, there are emotions in it, but if the film doesn't catch you, it just doesn't catch you. I don't know what it was, but I simply watched "Donnie Brasco" name cover and it didn't leave much of an impression on me. Maybe I was in a bad mood for this based on true events film. (28.01.2014)