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Looking for a good mafia movie? “Fuggetaboutit.” Donnie Brasco is a 1997 biographical crime film about an FBI undercover agent who infiltrates the mob and finds he’s a little too good at his job, blurring the line between the two lives he’s living. Directed by Mike Newell, the film is loosely based on the real story of FBI undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone, and widely considered to be one of the best ever made in the genre – all due respect to Goodfellas – and earned heaps of critical praise. Raking in tons at the box office, the movie was a long time in the making and a cultural touchstone on release, introducing the now iconic quote from above and absolutely cementing that fact mafia movies are just way cool.[/nextpage][nextpage title=”NEXT” ]
Beginning life in the late 80s, the film was originally set to be directed by Stephen Frears, of Dangerous Liaisons (we got some things to say about the movie, too) fame with none other than Tom Cruise set to play the titular Donnie. However, when Goodfellas steamrolled through theaters in 1990, no studio was willing to try and catch that lightning twice and so the project fell into development hell until 1996 when it resurfaced. With Frears and Cruise unable to commit, it allowed Johnny Depp to take the lead, partnering with the legendary Al Pacino, who was actually attached to the original project. The rest is history they say.[/nextpage][nextpage title=”NEXT” ]
The story follows Joe Pistone (Depp), a young FBI agent who has taken to the streets of New York as “Donnie ‘The jewler’ Brasco”, where he meets (by no accident) aging mafia wiseguy Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero (Pacino), whom he impresses with his tough attitude. Lefty takes him under his wing, showing him the ropes of the trade, getting him close to “made men”, members who are fully initiated into the mafia. Some of these men are heavy hitters, people he wants to take down, and in time is able to offer the FBI a great amount information on the ‘family’, leading to more in the agency showing interest in the case. And that’s not a good thing.[/nextpage][nextpage title=”NEXT” ]
Of course, with a film like this, the major source of tension is whether or not our hero is going to get found out, right? Who knows him? Who can see through him? Is he going to make a mistake? The movie plays on this theme throughout, especially since we know who Joe is and how bad it’ll be if he gets pinched. A rat doesn’t last very long in a crime family built on loyalty. Joe has to be convincing and earn trust while also keeping track of all he hears and sees. That means filing reports and making phone calls, but more so, wearing a wire, and in the 1970s, well, that means a big ol’ tape machine strapped to your body. Not exactly an easy thing to hide.[/nextpage][nextpage title=”NEXT” ]
Enter Dominick “Sonny Black” Napolitano (Michael Madsen – above), a made man and street boss, the guy Lefty and dozens others answer to. He’s a big target and Joe needs to stay close, and in time, he’s doing just that, making a big impression while Lefty sponsors him. He hangs out with the guys more and more, with Sonny and the others totally unaware that Joe, a.k.a. Donnie is recording everything they do. Needless to say, this is a dangerous game and Joe would surely meet a gruesome end if any one of them spotted the recorder. So, to hopefully make that impossible, Joe has it stuffed into his cowboy boot, the perfect spot where no one can see it, right? Right. Unless say … you went to a specific restaurant.[/nextpage][nextpage title=”NEXT” ]
If you know anything about most Asian cultures, one does not wear shoes indoors, such as homes and traditional restaurants. Guess where Donnie ends up when invited to join Sonny and the guys at a place they’ve been told is one of the best in the neighborhood. Yup, Japanese food. That all sounds fine until they arrive and the maitre d’, a fine looking Japanese man (Keenan Shimizu) in a nice suit, politely informs them they need to remove their shoes, a necessity for seating at the establishment. Sonny and the fellas do so without a word, looking forward to eating some international cuisine, though Donnie refuses, flat saying he won’t take them off. This has Sonny confused at first, telling Donnie to just do it and join them. However, Donnie doesn’t bend, and instead, rails against the Japanese man for his ethnicity. It only get uglier from there.[/nextpage][nextpage title=”NEXT” ]
Donnie is so convincing, he turns the others to his side, and in a flash, they drag the poor maitre d’ from the dining room, straight into the men’s room, Lefty standing outside keeping an eye open. Inside, it gets bad. The men beat the Japanese man mercilessly, spouting racial epitaphs while kicking and punching him to a bloody mess. Finally, Donnie steps in, telling them he’s had enough, but surprisingly, the man, trying to defend himself, connects a punch that lands on Donnie, and Donnie lets loose, angrily taking his turn on the maitre d’. And just like that, everything has suddenly changed.[/nextpage][nextpage title=”NEXT” ]
What’s great about this moment is how it unfolds. While we do know that Joe is an FBI agent, we don’t know that he has a wire in his boot. When he refuses to remove his shoes at the restaurant, it’s just as confusing to us as it is to Sonny and the guys. Why the heck won’t he take off his shoes? Naturally, since we’ve been primed from the start to feel tension about discovery, we kinda make the connection that he’s got something important tucked under his pant-legs, but we’re not sure what. It’s only in the following scene, when Joe is alone at his place, that he removes the recorder, revealing why he was so concerned. It would have been him in the men’s room on the floor. And he wouldn’t have come out alive.[/nextpage][nextpage title=”NEXT” ]
Yet, what’s more important about this moment is what it does to Joe. It is right here where he begins to truly lose grip on himself, steadily ‘becoming’ Donnie, a mafia stooge who uses violence to get what he wants. It’s a remarkable, transformative moment as Joe stands idle in the bathroom, watching the men senselessly beat the maitre d’, guilt clearly overcoming him. However, when he is struck by the man he is now trying to save, it ignites within him a raw savagery that is perfectly inline with the mafia mentality. Back at his house, he listens to himself on the tape, and it crushes him, horrified at what he’s let himself do. I love how this is a completely dialogue-free moment, allowing Joe to simply reflect on his actions and watch how it changes him. Indeed, he adopts a whole new strategy afterward, and in time, decides (with some violence) that taping isn’t going work anymore.[/nextpage][nextpage title=”NEXT” ]
Donnie Brasco remains one of the best films of Depp’s career, a monumentally well-made and acted movie that features terrific performances from him, Pacino and many others. Pacino in fact is really astonishing, with a final scene that is one of the most heartbreaking in all of cinema. Look also for small roles from Tim Blake Nelson and Paul Giamatti as well, both barely recognizable as FBI technicians. If you’ve not seen this, don’t hesitate. It’s truly one of the greats. Fuggetaboutit.[/nextpage]