By this I mean I can watch multiple times.
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Donnie Brasco
JohnSmythe — 10 years ago(September 10, 2015 08:11 AM)
By this I mean I can watch multiple times.
I've always felt that films like the Godfather romanticise and glorify the mafia. They show them as being gentlemen with rules and a sense of fairness and nobility. Maybe it is like that, I don't know, but it never quite sat right with me that these guys are effectively being portrayed as bad guys guy who only do bad things to other bad guys, when in reality 'civilians' suffer great violence and abuse from them, as well as financial loses.
Here it showed what I feel is a more accurate portrayal of mob life. Again, I'm no expert on the mob, but the killing of 'friends' without evidence based on orders and the intentional screwing over of others that will lead to their deaths seems to fit in much more.
I enjoyed the later seasons of the Sopranos more because of this. I felt they tried too hard to portray all the characters as anti-heroes at the start, but then gradually got to showing them more as the violent sociopaths they truly are with a few restraints as the show went on.
The depiction of Lefty complaining how he gets passed over for promotion after all he's done and how he never has any money despite being a wise guy while the guys on top get to live it large painted a different picture to what we usually see, like how in Goodfellas, our trio aren't made-men but seem to be living it up as if they were the leaders of the mob. -
mikeyg24 — 9 years ago(August 22, 2016 07:28 PM)
I mean ,they all worked the same town, there's only so many " jobs " and rackets for them.
Not completely accurate. One thing you have to understand is at the time of the movie there was a war going on within the Bonnano family itself and so Sonny's crew was operating in a much more confined (and evidently decadent) territory than they would have ordinarily. Busting up parking meters doesn't make the movie any more realistic than any other.
Hey! You're not old enough to drink! Now go and die for your country!!! -
LauraCohle — 9 years ago(November 11, 2016 04:57 AM)
I'm the opposite of you. I have never really enjoyed Donnie Brasco. I much prefer Casino and Goodfellas. I guess I didn't enjoy this film as much because of its lack of glamour and style, because I felt Michael Madsen was miscast, and because Pacino played a loser of a gangster (I was always really sad and felt sorry for the character).
I know, different strokes for different folks. I can definitely appreciate Donnie Brasco. I was surprised by how great Depp was - I never thought he could pull off a wiseguy but he's brilliant.