THE DEPARTED (2006)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Crime / Drama

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio / Matt Damon / Jack Nicholson

Plot

A Massachusetts State Policeman goes undercover inside Boston’s Irish mob in order to bring down boss Frank Costello.  Meanwhile, one of Costello’s own men infiltrates the police.  As both men get closer to discovering the other’s identity, the body count rises.

What I Liked

Martin Scrocese’s talent at directing gangster/crime films has not been a matter of debate since the 1970s, and “The Departed” does no disservice to that reputation.  Scorsese does an incredible job of slowly building the tension and balancing several characters well enough to make them all interesting.  Before I first saw this film, I remember being apprehensive about the potential for the film’s star power (DiCaprio, Nicholson, Damon, Wahlberg, Sheen, Baldwin) to outshine my ability to relate its characters, plot, and realism of the experience.  I should have known better.  Most of these actors are so good at what they do and their director so experienced at this dilemma that one has no problem being drawn into the fun and drama of it all.

What I Didn’t Like

When the film first came out, most people who saw the movie ranted about how great Wahlberg was in the movie.  I disagree.  While the character has some spectacular lines that bring some fire and fun to the script, that is to the credit of scriptwriter William Monahan, not Wahlberg.  The actor seems frightened to take on roles outside of his tough guy comfort zone.  He was the only major role in the film that I saw as an actor, not as a character.

I’ll ignore some of the ridiculous coincidences of the story (most notably the fact that both of the main characters are in relationships with the same woman) because in general they help accentuate the differences, similarities, and dramas of the cop world, the underworld, and the areas where they intersect. Those coincidences are the source of a great deal of the film’s important structure and the basis for several of the film’s key suspenseful moments, even if they’re laughably improbable.

Most Memorable Scene:

*spoiler alert*

Like many of Scorsese’s best movies, nearly every scene feels essential and classic.  This one is full of so many remarkable, unforgettable moments that it is difficult to narrow to just one, so I’ll have to go the route of picking two.

The first is a tense conversation between Nicholson’s Frank Costello and DiCaprio's Bill Costigan.  Costello smells a rat in his outfit and has called Costigan in to confront him to answer for some suspicious behavior.  In a fascinating, heart-pounding meeting of two immovable wills, it is Costigan who wins, convincing Costello that he is not the informant.  For me, though, even if DiCaprio’s character who won the fictional showdown, it was Nicholson who stole the scene.  The man’s star power and acting ability are spellbinding, making him the perfect man to play the role of the charismatic, unhinged, and entirely unpredictable Costello.  Thanks in part to the script and director, but mostly to Nicholson, the scene is fraught with an anything-can-happen-at-any-moment tension that never lets up even to the very end.  The history of gangster movies is jam-packed with classic confrontational dialogue of the first order, but this scene has to rank among the most enthralling ever, regardless of genre.

The second scene I chose for its sheer shock value.  The film takes an abrupt, bloody turn in a split second when Costigan is surprisingly murdered just as it seems he’s finally gotten control of his situation.  At the beginning of the second we’re admiring his apparent triumph.  Before that second is over, he’s a bloody mess on the floor of an elevator.  If the above mentioned scene between DiCaprio and Nicholson hinted at the plots unpredictability, Costigan’s death proved it.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5