Donnie Brasco (1997)

Depp's tight, guarded performance is almost painful to watch, and Newell seems to have reined in the flamboyant Pacino, whose portrait of the mobster as a grumpy old man may be his best work in years.

It's tempting to think Pacino stopped trying sometime in the mid-1980s. But watch Lefty's elegiac final scene and you might conclude that it's not Al's ability that's dimmed, rather it's the imagination of casting directors that's grown stale.

[Newell and Attanasio] pay as much attention to emotional details as to the clockwork details of mob life.

Just misses ranking in the upper echelon of mob movies.

A tense, sharp and compelling character study, Newell's film is a worthy addition to the Mob-movie canon.

A classy piece of work that may disappoint those looking for something more conventional.

A blue collar gangster movie that succeeds on all attempted levels, particularly acting.

Donnie Brasco is a fine movie but it might just be best remembered as Johnny Depp's coming-out party. A star -- check that, an actor -- is born.

Shows that solid acting and writing can salvage even material that has been covered by much better filmmakers.