Al Pacino's 1997 Mafia Movie Role Was The Exact Opposite Of Michael Corleone & Tony Montana

Al Pacino is widely touted as one of the greatest actors of modern cinema, primarily for his portrayal of ruthless mob bosses and relentless cops, but Donnie Brasco offers a noteworthy exception to that trend. Many of his most memorable performances have been all-in, no-holes-barred affairs which exposed the very worst of the criminal underworld on either side of the equation. That’s what would normally be expected upon seeing his name high up the cast list in a big-screen true-crime tale about one of New York’s infamous Five Families straight from the horse’s mouth.

After all, this is the man who’s played not one, not two, but three different parts based on the most notorious mobster in American history, Al Capone. It’s hard to tell who’d win in a fight between Michael Corleone and Tony Montana, but either way, there’d be blood everywhere in the aftermath. Meanwhile, Dick Tracy might be more of a pastiche than masterpieces like The Godfather and Scarface, but Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice still isn’t someone to be trifled with. So while it would be reasonable to think Pacino’s character in the 1997 classic Donnie Brasco is a cold-blooded mafia don, that's actually not the case at all.

Al Pacino Plays Against Type In Donnie Brasco

He's A Mobster, But Not Like The Others

Pacino may be playing a made-man, but Lefty is the softest gangster this side of Staten Island. When Johnny Depp’s undercover FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone introduces himself to Ruggiero under the false name that gives the movie its title, Pacino’s character is entering the twilight years of his service to the Bonnano crime family. He’s been passed over for promotion repeatedly, and is seen by his superior, Sonny Black, as a “dynamite guy” but a liability.

"If Donnie calls, tell him, I'm glad it was him." - Lefty Ruggiero in Donnie Brasco

This view is borne out when it’s revealed that the man Lefty has taken under his wing, integrated into the mob, and loved like a son is actually working against them for the federal government. Before he finds out the truth about Donnie, Lefty suggests that if his friend were a rat, it would make him “the biggest f****** mutt in the history of the mafia."

Yet even when the truth comes out, and it’s Lefty’s head on the chopping block, his heartfelt feelings of love and loyalty still come through. “If Donnie calls,” he tells his wife, in a quote to rival the best from Scarface, “Tell him, I’m glad it was him,” in reference to his friend’s betrayal. This behavior couldn’t be further from the fratricidal and murderous tendencies of Michael Corleone and Tony Montana.

Donnie Brasco Subverting Al Pacino's Most Iconic Gangster Roles Made The Movie Better

Pacino's Emotional Range Takes The Film To A Different Level

His distinctly humanizing portrayal of Lefty makes Donnie Brasco one of Pacino’s most underrated movies. It stands in stark contrast to his Godfather and Scarface performances, marking Lefty out as arguably the most sympathetic mobster in modern cinema. But far from undercutting the movie’s depiction of the mafia, this performance underscores how brutally cruel life in the mob – and tailing the mob – really is. Lefty is the one gangster who shows a shred of decency throughout the film, including Donnie.

That it’s Lefty who ultimately pays for the love and support he’s shown Donnie reflects the warped morality involved not only of organized crime, but of the federal agencies trying to break it up. While Donnie Brasco’s ending isn’t the true story of what happened to Lefty Ruggiero, it’s the ending that Pacino’s brilliantly tragic performance deserved. It’s Al Pacino subverting what’s expected of him both as a gangster in the story and as a legendary actor in mob films that elevates Donnie Brasco to a whole different plane of emotional resonance.