Obviously when we decide on which films to watch, we go through the most notable of the recent releases. Occasionally, I also like to throw in classics that we’ve never watched before. For example, we recently watched Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil. More rarely, I pick something completely out of left field. Not recent enough to be current but not notable enough to be really remembered either. Mike Newell’s Donnie Brasco counts as one such pick.

I read a lot of random junk when I browse through the net and I recently read up on the Donnie Brasco case, which is supposedly one of the most archetypal examples of undercover police work in real-life. FBI agent Joseph Pistone ultimately spent six years leading a double life from 1976 to 1981. It is not only considered a pioneering undercover episode but also one of the primary sources of information on how the Mafia works and is organized, which went on to inspire and inform all manner of gangster fiction.

As far as I can tell, this 1997 film is a pretty faithful depiction of those events. Many of its elements are already familiar tropes so there are no surprises here but I particularly liked how the gangsters grew so close to Brasco that they found it difficult to believe that he was an FBI agent. Fittingly enough, Johnny Depp looks perfect in his role as Donnie Brasco but seems too young to be a father of three children as Joe Pistone. Al Pacino is in his usual late-period overacting mode but he has great chemistry with Depp, giving their unlikely friendship credence.

This is a solid but unassuming film so there’s not much that I have to say about it. It’s good entertainment, does a fair job of capturing the era it seeks to depict and competently portrays the various characters involved. And this film convincingly shows us that Depp can do dramatic roles too when he isn’t being typecast into weirdo characters.