37 lines
4.9 KiB
Plaintext
37 lines
4.9 KiB
Plaintext
there's no reason to doubt that donnie brasco is based , as its opening credits proclaim , on a true story .
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but if it's an accurate picture of life on america's mean streets , than cinematic depictions of organised crime have had a much stronger basis in reality than i would have previously thought .
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for from the film's outset , when a group of hoods jocularly trade differing opinions on the merits of various automobiles ( not unlike a number of movie lowlifes who recently gave a madonna song a close reading ) donnie brasco resembles more than passingly a few gangster flicks once believed to be works of fiction .
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our eponymous hero ( johnny depp ) is not the cheap crook he first appears to be .
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brasco is joseph pistone , an undercover fbi agent who has the task of chumming-up to lefty ( al pacino ) , a seasoned hood who tutors pistone in the art of being a " wiseguy " .
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regrettably , pistone learns his lessons all too well .
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his concern for lefty , who is burdened with a heroin addicted son , exacerbates his own family troubles : his children resent his lengthy absences and his wife fears that her husband's gangster persona is becoming a little too convincing .
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true , the focus on pistone's family life does deviate from the typical gangster-flick formula , but this subplot never rises above its television drama origins .
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the unhappy couple trade predictable lines and engage in drawn-out domestic squabbles ? including an ill-advised marriage guidance routine ? that slow the film down unnecessarily .
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the biggest problem with donnie brasco , however , is that its wiseguy attitude and style lacks the flair of its many predecessors .
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the awkward use of an occasional disco tune momentarily reminds us its the 70's , but not with the consistent and blindingly tacky style ? i loved those fluoro coloured suits ? of scorces' costume drama casino .
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more importantly , pacino's presence triggers memories of his earlier movie triumphs in which similar territory was covered far more effectively .
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donnie brasco's take on american values , for instance , is feeble and obvious .
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lefty rambles out dreams of material betterment to the accompaniment of grating inspirational music .
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inexplicably , lefty's horatio alger inspired gush is supposed to move us .
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it doesn't any more than his family troubles do , which are dealt in the same saccharine and obvious manner as pistone's .
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just think a minute on how these themes were explored in the godfather movies and scarface .
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in these pictures pacino's dedication to a peculiar and bloody hyper-capitalism was twisted and confronting , while his dogged application of macho wiseguy procedure meant that his relations to friends and family was intriguingly dark ? neither were spared bloody retribution for breaching wiseguy regulations .
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donnie brasco's tawdry little crime , therefore isn't so much its repetition of familiar gangster themes , but the shameless way in which it sanitises them .
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( oh and by the way , i forgot to mention that the script also sports a startling subplot : pipstone's superiors are obstructive incompetents who are infuriated by his constant insubordination ? is that a " damn you mcbain ! "
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i hear from springfield way ? )
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so the movie is cliched .
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big deal , what do you expect from a gangster-flick ?
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well you expect quality action sequences and bravado performances in abundance if its going to be a decent example of the genre .
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donnie brasco fails on both counts .
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the action scenes never rise above the ordinary and depp's woeful performance tends to smother the good-work of his comrades .
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admittedly , pacino does nothing new and michael madsen ( sonny ) simply smirks his way through the picture like a slightly subdued mr . white , but both possess an unmistakable sly charm .
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depp usually exhibits a bit of class himself , but regrettably , being in the presence of one of his betters must have left him star-struck , for he is completely hell-bent on mimicking pacino's well-earned high style .
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the consequences are painful to watch .
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its no exaggeration to say that the film's credibility is seriously strained by the sight of the pistone family's uncanny ability to keep a straight face in front of their breadwinner's phony brooklyn accent .
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perhaps we should take pity on the makers of donnie brasco .
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maybe a scrupulous adherence to pinpoint accuracy demanded tiered dialogue and scenarios weakly reminiscent of classic gangster flicks .
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if this is indeed the case , surely the makers of donnie brasco could have explored the fascinating possibility that america's underworld is committed to emulating , albeit in heavily attenuated form , their movie namesakes .
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depp could have poignantly played a simple cop who becomes a hideous parody once he is forced to mimic big-screen gangster greats .
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who knows what insights into the criminal psyche could have arisen ?
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but then again , perhaps donnie brasco isn't so true after all .
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