The Departed
Martin Scorsese's The Departed has gotten so many pre-opening raves that one's expectations of the film should be sky high. But I know better then to listen to critics so I decided I would go into the theater thinking that this could be good or it might just be very overrated. I am happy to say that Scorsese and the film deliver big time.
The Departed is loosely based on a Hong Kong thriller entitled Infernal Affairs (I haven't seen that film but it is on my Netflix list). In this film the action takes place in Boston and centers on an Irish crime boss named Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). The police want to catch him in a bad way but he is a very slippery character. Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Dignan (Mark Wahlberg) are two cops who devise their own way to catch him. They have detective William Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) infiltrate Costello's ring in the hopes of catching him red handed. But things aren't so easy because one of their best cops, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), is working for Costello (they suspect someone in the department is a rat but they don't know who it is). In addition to all of this throw Sullivan's romance with cop shrink Madolyn (Vera Farmiga) into the mix and you will have an added complication.
The film crackles with life from the first scene and doesn't stop until the end. Although the running time is two and a half hours The time goes by very quickly. This is storytelling at its very best. Scorsese once again proves that he is a master of film and not only gets the narrative and feel right but gets top notch performances out of his cast. DiCaprio and Damon have never been my favorite actors but they are both very good in the film. Nicholson is Nicholson and even though we have seen some of this before it doesn't matter. You can't take your eyes off of him when he is on the screen. The above mentioned Sheen, Wahlberg and Farmiga are all up to par. And Alec Baldwin as frustrated cop Ellerby, Ray Winstone (he is quite chilling) as Costello's second in command French and David Patrick O'Hara as another Costello employee Fitzy are more than up to the task. Also of note is the outstanding soundtrack.
William Monohan's script is crisp and tight . The dialog is always sharp and salty. The film has so many twists and turns and it will keep you on your toes. And just when you think that you have it all figured out you will once again be in store for a surprise.
I have only two complaints about the film. The first one is that the film is not at all emotionally involving. I never really felt close to any of the characters. But I didn't expect that from this film. My other quibble has to do with the love triangle. I just thought that the scenario was a bit too unbelievable. But these are just minor things.
The Departed is definitely one of the best and smartest crime dramas of recent memory. I don't know if Scorsese will finally win his long deserved Oscar for this film. It is possible but certainly not definite. He is one of the greatest directors working today and I hope that he eventually gets his due. But in the meantime do yourself a favor and take yourself to see this film. I can guarantee that you will not be sorry that you did.
The Departed is loosely based on a Hong Kong thriller entitled Infernal Affairs (I haven't seen that film but it is on my Netflix list). In this film the action takes place in Boston and centers on an Irish crime boss named Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). The police want to catch him in a bad way but he is a very slippery character. Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Dignan (Mark Wahlberg) are two cops who devise their own way to catch him. They have detective William Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) infiltrate Costello's ring in the hopes of catching him red handed. But things aren't so easy because one of their best cops, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), is working for Costello (they suspect someone in the department is a rat but they don't know who it is). In addition to all of this throw Sullivan's romance with cop shrink Madolyn (Vera Farmiga) into the mix and you will have an added complication.
The film crackles with life from the first scene and doesn't stop until the end. Although the running time is two and a half hours The time goes by very quickly. This is storytelling at its very best. Scorsese once again proves that he is a master of film and not only gets the narrative and feel right but gets top notch performances out of his cast. DiCaprio and Damon have never been my favorite actors but they are both very good in the film. Nicholson is Nicholson and even though we have seen some of this before it doesn't matter. You can't take your eyes off of him when he is on the screen. The above mentioned Sheen, Wahlberg and Farmiga are all up to par. And Alec Baldwin as frustrated cop Ellerby, Ray Winstone (he is quite chilling) as Costello's second in command French and David Patrick O'Hara as another Costello employee Fitzy are more than up to the task. Also of note is the outstanding soundtrack.
William Monohan's script is crisp and tight . The dialog is always sharp and salty. The film has so many twists and turns and it will keep you on your toes. And just when you think that you have it all figured out you will once again be in store for a surprise.
I have only two complaints about the film. The first one is that the film is not at all emotionally involving. I never really felt close to any of the characters. But I didn't expect that from this film. My other quibble has to do with the love triangle. I just thought that the scenario was a bit too unbelievable. But these are just minor things.
The Departed is definitely one of the best and smartest crime dramas of recent memory. I don't know if Scorsese will finally win his long deserved Oscar for this film. It is possible but certainly not definite. He is one of the greatest directors working today and I hope that he eventually gets his due. But in the meantime do yourself a favor and take yourself to see this film. I can guarantee that you will not be sorry that you did.
posted by Film Fanatic | 1:42 PM
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