Donnie Brasco, written by Paul Attanasio, based on the books by Joseph D. Pistone and Richard Woodley, 10 out of 10

Donnie Brasco, written by Paul Attanasio, based on the books by Joseph D. Pistone and Richard Woodley

10 out of 10

Notes and thoughts on other books are available at:

-              https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E and   http://realini.blogspot.ro/

This film?

-          “Forget about it!!”

As Donnie Brasco explains when asked by his fellow FBI agents, this is a catch phrase, leitmotif used by the mobsters.

They used for a car that was not good, for a meal that they enjoyed and was extraordinary or just to say…forget about it.

When I used it for the film itself, I meant to say that it is astounding and one of my favorite, top twenty movies.

The director, Mike Newell is behind two other motion pictures that I liked: Four Weddings and a Funeral and Mona Lisa Smile.

I was surprised to find that this staggering production was only nominated for an Academy Award and no Golden Globe.

It was the year when The Titanic has taken all the possible prizes, leaving nothing for the rest of the better works

In my book, Donnie Brasco is much better, even if the effort, the daring, innovation and power behind the catastrophe movie are to be appreciated.

Donnie Brasco is actually the assumed name of FBI agent Joe Pistone, on whose book the script of the film is based.

Donnie Brasco has the task of infiltrating the mafia in order to get evidence that would put criminals behind bars.

Johnny Depp proves yet again that he is a master of this art and his performance is…As Good As It Gets…for which Jack Nicholson won the Oscar, in 1998 and Depp would have deserved a nomination at the very least, much more than Dustin Hoffman for his presence in a rather unexceptional film- Wag the Dog.

Lefty Ruggiero is the first contact, a mobster that is portrayed with brilliance by Al Pacino- I am not sure if this was not the last great role, for this viewer, of an actor who has been for a good many years on a descending slope.

Donnie becomes attached to Lefty, who introduces the young man in the underworld of the group controlled by Sonny Black.

There are disputes for the top position and Sonny Black is in conflict with another, older leader called Sonny Red.

Trying to fit in as well as possible, in order to protect his real identity and life, agent Pistone becomes…much like the Mafiosi.

This leads to violent disputes with his wife Maggie (Anne Heche), who is accusing her spouse of becoming a bandit.

And she is right, Donnie- Pistone himself admits it, saying that he has become one of them and he is worried by the things he has to do.

Life on the edge is really the experience of this undercover agent, who has a few brushes with exposure and hence death.

At one moment, the Goodfellas are supposed to eat in an Asian restaurant, where they have to take their shoes off, only in the case of the FBI agent, his boots are the hiding place for the recording device he is carrying…

So he has to act theatrical and racist, pretending that America has won the war and not these bastards and he would not take his boots off…

Some events are awkward, sad and hilarious, like the gift of a lion, given by Sonny black to Lefty, because he knows he likes wild life…the latter is indeed watching a lot of National Geographic documentaries on TV.

Throughout the film, one of the most compelling aspects is the drama of Lefty Ruggiero, who appears like a sad old man, quite often.

His life is a failure in some ways, his son is a drug addict that has an overdose and ends up on life supporting machines.

Lefty is forever waiting to be “sent for”, which could mean something good, but very often it is a bullet in the head, which is exactly what would happen to him if and when agent Pistone pulls out from the game.

The Mafia will be ruthless with the man who has recommended that Donnie Brasco would become a “made man”, a member of the exclusive organized crime group.

As agent Pistone says to his wife: “it is like I would kill him myself, practically putting a bullet through his head”.

Donnie Brasco is a glorious film.