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Donnie Brasco poster

Movies that feel likeDonnie Brasco (1997)

An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.

If you loved Donnie Brasco, the closest films we have are The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), The Negotiator (1998) and Enemy of the State (1998). All three share Donnie Brasco's contemplative and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Parallax View (1974).

πŸ… 88% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.7 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Mike Newellgrittycontemplativetenseparanoid
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· HBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video

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If Donnie Brasco hit the spot, these will too

The Lincoln Lawyer poster
The Lincoln Lawyer
2011 Β· dir. Brad Furman
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7.3crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Gritty and contemplative in the same breath

Mick Haller is a charismatic defense attorney who does business out of his Lincoln Continental sedan. Mick spends most of his time defending petty crooks and other bottom-feeders, so it comes as quite a surprise when he lands the case of a lifetime: defending a Beverly Hills playboy who is accused of attempted murder. However, what Mick initially thinks is an open-and-shut case with a big monetary reward develops into something more sinister.

The Negotiator poster
The Negotiator
1998 Β· dir. F. Gary Gray
β˜… 7.3action Β· crime Β· drama

Both land tension and paranoia at once

The difference: Sits closer to action than Donnie Brasco does

The police try to arrest expert hostage negotiator Danny Roman, who insists he's being framed for his partner's murder in what he believes is an elaborate conspiracy. Thinking there's evidence in the Internal Affairs offices that might clear him, he takes everyone in the office hostage and demands that another well-known negotiator be brought in to handle the situation and secretly investigate the conspiracy.

Enemy of the State poster
Enemy of the State
1998 Β· dir. Tony Scott
πŸ… 71%β˜… 7.3action Β· drama Β· thrillerPrime Video

Both are working the same pair: mafia, surveillance

The difference: Easier on the grit than Donnie Brasco

When the videotape of the murder of a congressman unknowingly ends up in the hands of labor lawyer and dedicated family man Robert Clayton Dean, he is framed for the murder. With the help of the mysterious Brill, Dean attempts to throw the NSA off his trail and prove his innocence.

Marathon Man poster
Marathon Man
1976 Β· dir. John Schlesinger
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.4thriller Β· crime Β· dramaParamount+

New York City shapes both of them

The difference: 21 years apart, and the 1970s show

A graduate student and obsessive runner in New York is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother, a member of the secretive Division.

Snowden poster
Snowden
2016 Β· dir. Oliver Stone
πŸ… 61%β˜… 7.3drama Β· history Β· crimeNetflixStarz

Both lean on grit more than on crime

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

CIA employee Edward Snowden leaks thousands of classified documents to the press.

The Baader Meinhof Complex poster
The Baader Meinhof Complex
2008 Β· dir. Uli Edel
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.3action Β· crime Β· dramaPrime Video

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

When German police viciously quell a protest against the shah of Iran, popular journalist Ulrike Meinhof rebels against her dishonest marriage, walks away from her children and joins radical anarchist Andreas Baader. Together with Baader's girlfriend, Gudrun Ensslin, they form the violent Red Faction Army, and together perpetrate a slew of terrorist attacks as a way of disrupting the fabric of what they see as an increasingly fascist state.

The Little Things poster
The Little Things
2021 Β· dir. John Lee Hancock
πŸ… 44%β˜… 6.3drama Β· crime Β· thrillerRent or buy

One thread runs through both: surveillance

Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon joins forces with Sgt. Jim Baxter to search for a serial killer who's terrorizing Los Angeles. As they track the culprit, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deke's past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case.

The French Connection poster
The French Connection
1971 Β· dir. William Friedkin
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.7action Β· crime Β· thriller

The same preoccupation in both: gangster

Tough narcotics detective 'Popeye' Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.

The Parallax View poster
The Parallax View
1974 Β· dir. Alan J. Pakula
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.1crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

An ambitious reporter gets in trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the world's headlines.

Public Enemies poster
Public Enemies
2009 Β· dir. Michael Mann
πŸ… 68%β˜… 6.9crime Β· history Β· drama

Both are built on the same subject: gangster

Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger's charm and audacity endear him to much of America's downtrodden public, but he's also a thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover and the fledgling FBI. Desperate to capture the elusive outlaw, Hoover makes Dillinger his first Public Enemy Number One and assigns his top agent, Melvin Purvis, the task of bringing him in dead or alive.

Infernal Affairs poster
Infernal Affairs
2002 Β· dir. Alan Mak Siu-Fai
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8drama Β· thriller Β· crimeMax

Both keep coming back to the same thing: undercover

Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.

Conclave poster
Conclave
2024 Β· dir. Edward Berger
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.4drama Β· thrillerStarz

Paranoid drama in both cases

After the unexpected death of the Pope, Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with managing the covert and ancient ritual of electing a new one. Sequestered in the Vatican with the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders until the process is complete, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could lead to its downfall.

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The best-reviewed films that share Donnie Brasco’s defining feeling.