Classic R-Rated 90s Crime Thriller Is Finally Streaming On Netflix

By TeeJay Small
| Published 8 seconds ago

Maybe there’s something wrong with me, but I’ve been interested in crime dramas from the time I was old enough to walk. Films like Goodfellas and Casino, and TV shows like The Sopranos and Breaking Bad have always called to me, so it’s not often that I find a classic mob film I’m not already familiar with. One such movie, Donnie Brasco, has been on my must-watch list for years, though the timing has never been right for me to catch it on streaming. That is, until it was recently loaded onto Netflix, where I was finally granted an opportunity to sit down and take it all in.

Donnie Brasco is a 1997 biopic about an undercover FBI agent by the name of Joseph Pistone, who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family in the 1970s. Pistone spent years posing as a jewel thief, fixer, and eventual consigliere to the mob, ultimately blurring the lines of his own loyalty to both cops and criminals. The film was written by House co-creator Paul Attanasio, and directed by Mike Newell. It features an all-star cast including Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Paul Giamatti, and Tony Lip, who served as the inspiration for 2018’s Green Book.

The film begins in 1978, when Pistone (Johnny Depp) first takes on the identity of Donnie Brasco. Using his contact Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), he breaks into the seedy underbelly of organized crime in New York, and makes his bones by moving counterfeit watches, beating up low-level thugs, and snatching cars in place of protection payments. Before long, Donnie is fingered as the new “it” man in the crew, and he moves up the ladder as an enforcer for de facto leader Sonny Black (Michael Madsen).

Unfortunately, Sonny’s soft spot for Donnie doesn’t quite extend to Lefty, and the duo begin to experience a rift in their genuine friendship. As Donnie continues moving up in the ranks, he exploits his FBI connections to bring down the entire operation, even as his absence takes a toll on his relationship with his wife and family. In the end, Donnie collects enough wiretapping evidence to incur over 200 indictments and 100 convictions, effectively putting an end to the Bonanno family crime syndicate.

Donnie Brasco is a fascinating character study about a real-life criminal investigation, though Al Pacino‘s Lefty truly steals the show. Lefty’s character exemplifies a lot of the same principles that were later explored to completion in The Sopranos. His failure to save for retirement, antiquated worldview, and constant fear of being betrayed by his friends serve as the very factors that drive him into a friendship with a cop, unraveling his entire world. In 2026, you could almost make an argument that The Infiltrator does the narrative better, but nobody holds a candle to Pacino’s performance.

I’m happy I can finally cross Donnie Brasco off my list, even if it doesn’t quite stand up to the all time classics like The Godfather or The Departed. In any case, you’ll want to check this one out if you’re a fan of crime thrillers and mob tales. Donnie Brasco is currently streaming on Netflix.