Donnie Brasco - ACE Train Movie Review

Joe Pistone is an FBI agent who is given an assignment to infiltrate the Mafia; calling himself Donnie Brasco, he befriends Lefty Ruggiero, a low-level mob hit man whose personal life is in tatters. Lefty's marriage is falling apart, his son is a junkie, and his health is failing, which only adds to his growing disillusionment about having spent 30 years with the Mafia with little to show for it. But in Donnie, Lefty sees someone who can succeed where he failed; he takes the young man under his wing, and under Lefty's tutelage Donnie quickly rises through the ranks of organized crime; however, the longer he plays the role of the gangster, the more Joe Pistone finds himself becoming Donnie Brasco in his increasingly rare off hours; it drives a wedge between himself and his wife and children, and Joe realizes that a break in character among the hoodlums he's come to know could mean a death sentence for himself and his family. Just as importantly, Joe has come to regard Lefty as a close and trusted friend, and Joe realizes that when the day comes where he has to turn in his Mob associates, he'll be ending Lefty's life as surely as if he put a slug in his head himself.

This is a great film in the same vein as The Godfather. The difference is that this film is told in the perspective of an undercover FBI agent who infiltrates the mob in order to bring it down. The fact that it was based on true events made it that much better and the special feature section even has an interview with the real Joe Pistone who talks about which parts of the movie were true to life and which were embellishments. The saying, "truth is stranger than fiction" definitely holds up for this film as it would have been a good film if it was fiction, but it's a great film since this stuff really happened. You have to give Joe Pistone credit for devoting several years of his life to bringing down the mob at the expense of his personal life. It's crazy to see how much he became one of "them" before the FBI finally ended the operation. This is a must see.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: Yes
Starring: Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, Michael Madsen, Anne Heche

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.