Freeview film of the day: Donnie Brasco

Donnie Brasco ★★★★
9.00-11.40pm Sony Movie Channel

This is based on the true story of an undercover FBI agent, Joseph D Pistone, who infiltrated the Bonanno Mafia family in New York purporting to be Donnie Brasco, a jewel thief. The action moves from New York to Florida and involves much skulduggery, violence and sudden death but at the heart of it is a friendship — that between Brasco (Johnny Depp) and Lefty (Al Pacino), an ageing hitman who, unaware of Brasco’s real identity, introduces him to the Mob and acts as his mentor. As his Mafia involvement increases, Donnie grows more and more like the mobsters, to the detriment of his marriage to Anne Heche. An intriguing story deftly directed by Mike Newell and splendidly acted by Pacino and Depp.