Monday 16 April 2007

Donnie Brasco

First of all. I couldn't look at Johnny Depp with that moustache without thinking of Freddie Mercury. Nice mo', Johnny. No wonder people were spreading rumours that Johnny would play Freddie in a Queen movie.

Anyway, Donnie Brasco. I really like it. Al Pacino and Depp work so beautifully together, and the characters were actually quite fascinating. I am always especially intrigued by films that are based on a real person's life, and this one was no exception. What a life. I am amazed at the fact that the actors and director got to meet with Joe Pistone himself, and meet with quite a few real mafia men, despite the fact that Pistone still has an open contract on his head. That blows me away. Imagine meeting with a guy, and then later meeting with the very people who want to kill him, and would do anything to find out where he is now. I assume they wouldn't have told the actors the family's new name or where they lived etc, so they wouldn't be in danger, but still. What an experience.

The acting from all players is natural and very watchable. The mafia guys are portrayed in such a way as to make the audience feel they are just ordinary men, in a particular line of work, oding the best they can - but all with supreme egos and a level of everyday worry that most ordinary folk don't deal with. I was surprised by how much sympathy I found myself feeling for Pacino's character, Leftie, and especially all the other, somewhat lower-down mafia men. By the end of the film I was really conflicted; wanting Pistone to get back to his normal life, but also wanting Brasco to succeed and impress his new colleagues.

That is why real stories fascinate me so much - these people are/were real people, and their lives were so complicated and conflicted and just *real*. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own little life and it's easy to forget that other people out there have such different experiences. I guess that's why I love acting; I love exploring another person's existence, experiencing snippets of new and very different experiences.

Anyway, blah blah. Not going to get philosophical about it.

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Just a quick note - if anyone's reading here, please drop in a quick comment once or twice to let me know. I like to know what people think, and I also just like to know whether anyone's even reading. Thanks to the people that do comment - I appreciate it. :-)

3 comments:

Hayley said...

Hi Sumara, just letting you know that I read your blog on a semi-regular basis, though don't always have the time to comment (or sometimes not much to say). Reading your comments about movies often makes me want to watch these movies that I might otherwise not have bothered watching. It's nice to get your opinion on things!

Bet you are looking forward to the next Pirates of the Carribean very much! It's out soon I've heard. Next month is it?? I can't wait to see it either!

Anonymous said...

Hi Sumara. I left a message here yesterday but for some reason it hasn't shown up. Oh well, I'll start again.

I read your blog from time to time, but unfortunately usually it's just a flying visit so I don't often get a chance to comment. Just wanted to let you know that it's nice to get your opinions on movies and things in general. Reading your blog makes me interested in watching movies I might not have considered watching before.

I bet you can't wait for Pirates of the Carribean! I can't wait either. I heard it's coming out in May, so not long to go!

Sumara said...

Sorry Hayley. I'd forgotten that I had "comment moderation" switched on which meant I had to approve comments.Oops.

Thanks for dropping in. :-)

Yes I am SO looking forward to At World's End. The world premiere is 19th May then it's released here (before the states! ha ha!) on 24th May. In the states some places are doing Movie Marathons with all three Pirates movies so I'm really hoping someone will do that here. I never saw the first one on the big screen so it'd be very cool to see all three in one day.