MovieChat Forums > Donnie Brasco (1997) Discussion > Anybody feel sorry for Lefty?

Anybody feel sorry for Lefty?

posted 9 years ago by mastersslave74
22 replies | jump to latest

I grew up around mobsters, and I can tell you that he was the lowest of the low on the totem pole if that is the way he lived. Maybe it was because he was a gambler, but i felt bad for him during the Christmas scene at home. Him, his daughter, son, and Johnny Depp? That is it? Eating in front of the television?

Let me tell you, real wiseguys will spend thousands on Christmas Ever for the seven fishes with hundreds of people coming through the house. Then Christmas dinner lasts for hours, with course after course. There are dozens of people who all eat together.

He kept trying to convince Depp of "how connected" he was and how important he was because he really wasn't. I felt sorry for him. He was constantly taking money from Depp... this is not mob life.

[–] bahlsdheep 9 years ago

He did seem like a loveable loser at lots of points. He must have been at least somewhat connected if he was able to take care of Sonny while he was in jail, but he just never seemed able to make a buck. Donnie did seem to be put in charge of more important stuff than Lefty after only a couple years tops as an associate, so yeah I'm guessing they didn't think much of Lefty.

[–] stones78 9 years ago

Just saw parts of it last night, and I do feel somewhat sorry for Lefty.

[–] dominusluna2-704-461065 8 years ago

Lefty was quite a despicable low life degenerate gambler. Nice enough but still a low life degenerate.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] micirisi 9 years ago

Cancer of the pr1ck? Who could not feel sorry for him? Yeah, he was no Tony Soprano but have a heart! http://imgur.com/FxkrVEj

He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator.

[–] frogca 9 years ago

He really was a loser in life. Schlepping around killing 26 people before the film even began, and getting absolutely nowhere. I felt sorry for him, and sorrier for his many victims.

[–] jerjerrod 9 years ago

Lefty did express his frustration in the film about he has done so many things at the behest and for the benefit of others. He seemed to always be working and never getting everywhere and his mob bosses just passing him over all the time, taking advantage of him and his desire to be recognized in The Family.

[–] goldpink23 9 years ago

@mastersslave74.I came on here to create a thread on sympathy for Lefty.Unlike you,I don't know any mobsters in real life.However I actually felt bad for him.It's weird because the guy is a cold blooded killer,yet Al Pacino played Lefty in a way that made me feel sorry for him.

[–] stones78 9 years ago

almost feel sorry for him in the book too, and he kept staying loyal to Donnie.

[–] dreez-vector 9 years ago

No.. he was a born loser, gambling all his money away, never gaining the respect from his friends, always borrowing money from people around him and never paying back.

He was the weak one of them and was better of killed.

[–] cabal24 9 years ago

he was a born loser, gambling all his money away, never gaining the respect from his friends, always borrowing money from people around him and never paying back.

Those are the most minor of his offenses. The real Lefty had 25+ hits. He was a stone cold killer. Same with Sonny Black. These are mean, terrible, violent men. So no, I do not feel sorry for them at all.

That said, in the movie we are not seeing Lefty. We are seeing Al Pacino's portrayal of Lefty Ruggerio. Al Pacino is a very charismatic, likable individual who has a talent for making people feel any way he wants them to. And here, he wanted to make us feel sorry for Lefty.

In short we are feeling sorry for Al, not Lefty.

[–] notspecial 8 years ago

You do know that Lefty was never killed. He was arrest received a 20 year sentence but was released early with cancer and died a free man.

[–] ArthurDental 8 years ago

Not only that, but he refused the offer to turn state's evidence. For that when he got out of prison he was accepted back to the mob.

Hate it when movies make heroes out of cold-blooded murderers and gangsters.

[–] notspecial 8 years ago

So does my mom. She always hated movies like Bonnie and Clyde b/c people feel sorry for them when they're killed at the end. They were cold-blooded murders who killed innocent people. So, it rubbed off a bit and I watch but remind myself what kind of people they really are.
My mom even says it about fictional characters like The Sopranos. So I agree with you too.

[–] jajceboy 8 years ago

This is like a working class version of the Godfather. Lefty did all the hard work without getting anywhere and being taken for granted all the time. Everybody else got promoted , Lefty stayed where he was.
The eternal loser, how can you at least not sympathize with it?

[–] NotForMeThanks 8 years ago

Yeah it was really because of his gambling debt. He owed a lot of money to people and couldn't pay it back because he had a gambling problem. So therefore, he couldn't be seen as a valuable earner. A valuable henchman? Yes. But making sure your boss gets paid is important too. He couldn't hold up that end of the bargain so he was treated like a mooch.

Had he not gambled all of his money away and never taken out debts, I'm sure with that many hits under his belt and such extreme loyalty, he would have been higher level.

Eventually, he did end up sort of getting the respect he deserved in the mob world by getting the bounty off his head and them knowing he wasn't a rat and stayed true until the very end, even not taking million dollar offers for his story.

He truly served his time and died following the code of silence

And yes, you do feel bad for him in the film.,While a ruthless murderer, he was brought up in the life at a very young age. He wanted to escape but knew that it wasn't possible because leaving would mean breaking his oath and making him a dead man.

He was pretty much trapped in that life style. You leave, you die. You stay and stop taking orders to kill people, you die. He was in a fked up situation with pretty much no way out unless he turned state witness which still leaves you vulnerable and that's something that he's been brainwashed from a young age not to do.

While not an excuse, it is still interesting to see what drives and motivates killers to kill. Was Lefty doing it for enjoyment? No. He didnt seem to get a thrill out of it. He was doing it because that's what he was taught to do and was also scared for his own life if he didnt.

[–] benedictcumberbatch-87693 8 years ago

Lefty bullied and murdered people to get where he was

he wanted "respect"

the mafia are human sewage

[–] Matthew7819 8 years ago

The director mentions it in the commentary, Lefty was a loyal Soldier and took orders well but he was not very smart at all, just loyal and doing his job, remember when the boss got killed and Lefty was talking about it with Donnie in the car on the way to the meeting at the airport because he got sent for, he was supposed to get whacked and was afraid for his life, but Sonny Black cancelled him getting whacked because the boss had been killed by him and his men before already, the boss ordered Lefty to get killed for never having enough money most likely.

You can even see Sonny stare into Lefty's face and he looks at Lefty like yeah you were supposed to get killed but now its okay, it was Sonny telling him with a look that he was supposed to kill Lefty but now he was giving him a pass, on account of the boss being shot to death at his last supper, Sonny was taken care of by Lefty while he was in prison, he never forgot that, so he gave his friend a pass and let him live to continue to earn.

Lefty was so pathetic he was supposed to be killed early on in the film, but Sonny Black cancelled the hit on him, later on after Lefty screwed up with Donnie he got whacked at the end, Lefty got no respect for good reason, but Sonny respected him helping him out enough to cancel the hit ordered by the now dead boss, thats my take, Lefty would have been killed if the boss had not been killed before.