The Departed

Thank God for filmmakers like Martin Scorsese. Everyone knows the drill; you avoid the theaters like the Black Death during January and February. March and April are usually good for a chic flick or gross out comedy. Summer comes and we get our popcorn thrillers, comic book adaptations, jaw dropping effects and fight scenes. This is the way with the film industry. Then comes the fall. Oscar season begins and suddenly the movies with legendary performances and world changing messages flood the theaters. Far too often large crowds avoid the “great” films of this season because they’re dry, too wordy, or boring. I cannot tell a lie, sometimes I don’t care if it’s garnered 13 golden globe nominations, if it’s not exciting I’m just not that interested. This is why I say… thank God for filmmakers like Martin Scorsese.
“The Departed” has already been talked about as the first real Oscar contender of year, and this is true. But it’s not a run of the mill boring award winner, it’s a marvelous epic of twisted truths and bad versus good where nobody knows who’s bad and who’s good, not the characters and not us.
Scorsese has the arduous task of setting the stage that must be put out of the way in the beginning. Similar to setting up his little dominoes, he carefully and deliberately gives the audience all the information they need to know right off the bat. We see the allegiance of a child bought off by Jack Nicholson’s gleefully wicked mob boss Costello. Years later this child, Colin Sullivan played by Matt Damon, has grown up and worked his way through school and training to work under cover for Costello as a policeman in the Special Investigation Unit. During the same time that we watch Colin weasel his way into the department, we meet Billy Costigan, played excellently by the ever-improving Leonardo DiCaprio. Costigan is not that different than Sullivan, both experienced life on the tougher streets of South Boston, the things they have in common only build as the movie progresses. The second act begins as Costigan is sent through extensive and harsh situations to become an under-cover cop working alongside Costello.
What follows can only be described as a cat-and-mouse account of the most phenomenal nature. There is not one, but three mice, for all of our main characters are being sought by others in their own specific way. And to begin counting the cats would set my head spinning. The story is interwoven so intricately that we cannot help being engaged right down to the last startling kill. Even so, it is never convoluted or overbearing. Scorsese is a master, and here it is demonstrated exquisitely.
This is not a one-man show however; the excellence of direction is only the beginning of superb workmanship. Not a single actor or actress gives anything less than a stellar performance. Jack Nicholson, who can usually be relied upon to deliver sufficiently, makes the character of a bad to the bones crime lord totally new for us. Matt Damon and Leo DiCaprio carry the film as two men consumed with their double lives. Mark Whalberg turns in a terrific performance as a good guy who’s a jerk and by the end you can’t help but to love him and hate him simultaneously.
While romance in this genre usually feels forced, lesser-known Vera Farmiga creates a believable and tragically ironic love triangle between herself, Damon and DiCaprio. Her talents, I think, have yet to be fully displayed, even after this film’s first-rate performance, and I look forward to great things from her.
As a movie, “The Departed” excels in numerous ways. It may not be an eternal classic, or maybe it will. For now it is simply a good theater going opportunity, it’s sure to be talked about, lauded, and so forth, but it’s enjoyable for both the art lovers and the thrill seekers, though the drawn out conclusions may not be ideal for the action audience. It showcases the talent of a great cast, features a well-paced and engaging plot, and under the careful control of Martin Scorsese it is a movie to applaud.

A-