Runtime: 127 minutes
Directed by: Mike Newell
Starring: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, Anne Heche (RIP)
From: TriStar
RIP Anne Heche. Yeah, she does deserve compassion even if her actions (due to substance abuse and/or a mental health breakdown) resulted in the house of Lynne Mishelle burning down. I do feel bad for both; at least GoFundMe donations helped out the latter and if you believe in the afterlife, the former is hopefully in a better place. What a shock it was last Friday to see that this was why she trended. I do know that she’s had a hard life between suffering abuse as a child, many of her siblings passing away, and the struggles w/ substances & her mental health. Apparently she is a nice lady so what an awful situation this was all around. It also allows me to not even bring up Johnny Depp’s personal life or my opinion of same…
Neither actor’s real life behavior will play any role in my opinion of Donnie Brasco. Believe it or not, this was a first time watch despite the plot being in my wheelhouse… loosely based on a real story, an undercover FBI agent (Depp) infiltrates the NYC mob and there’s the inevitable march to trouble when the agent befriends Mafia hitman Al Pacino. Largely it is what you expect if you’ve seen one of these films before; that’s not meant as a diss. Even if it’s not GoodFellas (a comparison I’ve seen a few times before) it was still very good overall. The late 70’s setting was brought to life rather well… the clothing, the vehicles, the music, the disco vibe, etc.
It also has nice acting from its main cast; no surprise that the likes of Depp and Michael Madsen delivered; Pacino was latter career Pacino although at least he didn’t phone in his role as he sometime did. No complaints either w/ Heche’s performance as Depp’s wife-it’s not a shocking revelation that going undercover for more than two years doesn’t facilitate a happy marriage or a solid relationship w/ your three young daughters. That drama was done better than you’d expect.
If it wasn’t due to her problems and-to address the elephant in the room, late 90’s homophobia-Anne Heche should have had more of a career than having a heyday at least 20 years old. As for the movie, it is more about the drama of mob politics and in-fighting (not to mention the interesting relationship between the two leads) but compelling, it still was.
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