Date: Fri 14-Mar-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Illustration: C

Location: A12

Quick Words:

Playing-Brasco-Depp-Pacino

Full Text:

(rev "Donnie Brasco" for Now Playing, 3/14/97)

Now Playing-

Character Interplay Marks "Brasco" As Not A `Run-of-the-Mill' Gangster Movie

By Trey Paul Alexander III

What's the allure of science-fiction? Why have the Star Wars trilogy, the

"Star Trek" franchise and their ilk endured? Some scoff they have nothing to

do with reality. Yet one could surmise that masses flock to them exactly

because they take us outside our spheres of reality and explore strange new

worlds and galaxies far, far away.

One could argue this as a persuasive case for the appeal of the film medium as

a whole and its ability to allow viewers to vicariously experience some other

person, time or place. I have often felt that way about crime films,

particularly those dealing with the mob, Mafia and organized crime. They

reveal worlds of power, glamour, big money and gross violence, places most of

us have never quite experienced, but find riveting when displayed on the big

screen.

Donnie Brasco , playing at the Crown Cine theater in Danbury, is based on the

true tale of FBI agent Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp), who infiltrated the New York

mob in the late `70s under the guise of a jewel thief named Donnie Brasco.

What makes the film so intriguing is its rendering: not of a bunch of high

rolling, big spending, well-groomed dons, but of an assortment of low-level

crooks whose big "marks" include scalping Chaka Khan tickets and busting open

parking meters.

Thus, when Donnie enters their world, he is not lured by the bright lights and

seductive charisma of high crime. Instead, he is drawn by the fraternity of

these thieves and their ethical codes, and the realization that he is more

like them than he cares to realize.

Donnie's guide into the mob is Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), an aging hitman who

serves as the newcomer's mentor. Lefty brings his new pal inside an inner

circle where he becomes familiar with a cadre of wise guys (Michael Madsen,

Bruno Kirby and James Russo) and begins to slowly assimilate all the power

structures within the Mafia.

"It's a lot like the army," notes Donnie early about the interplay between

bosses, hitmen and hoods. But Lefty disagrees. The anonymity of war is far

removed from the ways of the mob, which relies upon associations and multiple

meanings of the word "friend." In war, your enemy remains nameless and

faceless, but with the mob, Lefty warns, it's your best friend who is the

cause of your demise.

British director Mike Newell ( Four Weddings and a Funeral ) seems a strange

choice for this type of gritty genre, but he provides an able, guiding hand.

As with most crime films, Brasco takes us within the machinations of this

underworld community, but Newell's main interest is not in mob politics but in

giving restraint to the piece and allowing personal relationships, familiar to

all no matter your background, to be the movie's driving force. Because

character interplay is so important, there are only two notable scenes of

graphic violence. However, they are intentionally startling and severe, and

serve notice to increasingly empathetic viewers that these guys are indeed

criminals and killers.

Donnie Brasco could have been just another crime movie, with Pacino going

through paces he has already walked in his sleep. But it's not, particularly

due to the rapport between him and Depp. I was especially fascinated by Depp,

who has become quite the cinema chameleon. But his talents reach deeper than

just a proficiency to change his surface colors for a host of varied roles.

Most impressive is his ability to hold his own against veteran actors (Pacino

here, Brando in Don Juan DeMarco , and Martin Landau in Ed Wood ), and indeed,

his knack for drawing out the best in his counterparts. His chemistry with

Pacino gives Donnie Brasco its heart and grants it, ultimately, an enduring

power.

Donnie Brasco is rated R for frequent profanity and two graphically violent

sequences.