MovieChat Forums > Donnie Brasco (1997) Discussion > Going undercover - the worst job ever?

Going undercover - the worst job ever?

posted 8 years ago by otr91
8 replies | jump to latest

So you put yourself in dangerous situations with dangerous people, spend loads of time away from your family (and Pistone's breaks down in the film), have to not step in as other people get beaten up or killed, get transformed by the experience (e.g. the way he begins to talk in the film)... and then betray all these people that you've spent months getting 'close' to (if they really are close, like Lefty and Donnie are) and have the entire mafia against you so you have to spend your life in witness protection and quite possibly get found and be tortured/die/have your whole family die.

How much does he get paid for this? How can it ever be worth it??

Also, there's no way you can spend this much time with people and not get close to some of them, which makes the eventual 'betrayal' that much harder. I really felt for Lefty at the end.

"I...drink...your...milkshake!"

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] NotForMeThanks 8 years ago

And all Pistone got was a medal and a check for $500.

I think they portrayed exactly how Pistone felt "it was all for nothing" in the scene where he was receiving the medal and check and the official didnt even pronounce his name right. Cut to wife looking like "really?! Can't get his name right?!" To Pistone's eyes filled with sadness looking out, wondering wtf was this all for?

Sure, it payed off for the real Pistone because of how popular the story became but if it hadn't, yeah...that would have been extremely sh!tty.

[–] cabal24 8 years ago

And all Pistone got was a medal and a check for $500.

Yep this was one of my biggest complaints about the movie. This never happened. At all. There was no $500 nor did he expect there to be. And with some exceptions, most of the FBI as a whole treated him like a hero.

He even came back later to train future undercover officers.

[–] amcalabrese-1 8 years ago

Also, keep in mind he was only supposed to go undercover for about 6 months. And he was not supposed to go after the mob originally, but to go after hijackers and those fencing property for them. It turned into a mob program by accident, though given how much the mob was involved in hijacking in those days, it makes sense.

[–] manram24 7 years ago

Yeah, all that time he put into that and away from his family all for 500 bucks. Oh and contract on his head.

[–] millsey72 (9523) 3 years ago

Yea, I think its a plot hole because as you say, it makes no sense to go undercover

[–] NGMI (1184) 3 years ago

It's even stupider to do at with a family.