Daily Dialogue — December 9, 2016

Lefty hangs up the phone. Bad news.

Lefty’s Girlfriend: Was that for me?

Lefty: Uh, no… it was a guy I gotta go see.

— Donnie Brasco (1997), screenplay by Paul Attanasio, book by Joseph D. Pistone and Richard Woodley

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Excuse.

Trivia: Al Pacino loved being able to use all of the rich Mafia slang throughout the film. Writer Paul Attanasio captured mob dialect so accurately because he had Joseph D. Pistone’s wire taps.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Here Lefty (Al Pacino) has just received a call learning that he’s going to be killed due to the revelation that Donnie Brasco (Johnny Depp) was an undercover agent. So he makes an excuse to his girlfriend having to go meet a “guy”. It’s a little lie to keep his girlfriend out of harm’s way. Sometimes an excuse is a noble gesture.