Movie Reviews
For sheer euphoric cinematic bliss, there is not a movie thats been made all year that comes anywhere remotely close to The Departed. Martin Scorseses latest movie is ferocious, explosive entertainment wrapped inside an intricate plot and acted by a superior cast.
Half the fun of watching a Martin Scorsese picture is witnessing, time and again, how wonderful he is with introductions. Here again, he demonstrates his signature urgency. The camera is swift and fluid, interrupted by rough edits and obscure angles. The opening title doesnt even show up until a complex opening introduction is complete. Notice Jack Nicholsons first real entrance into the film. As Nicholsons narration guides the films opening fifteen minutes, his face is always in the dark or away from the camera. Theres a great sense of menace when his character, Frank Costello emerges from the shadows for the first time.
In that first fifteen minutes, the character intros are just as swift. Matt Damon plays Colin Sullivan, a police officer in the Boston Police Department. Leonardo DiCaprio plays William Costigan, an undercover cop in a different wing of the same department, where hes asked to do real jail time for a fake crime that he didnt actually commit (but might if given the chance). His superiors Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) operate under the agreement that no one else in the department know the identity of their agents.
Costigans jail time is a ploy to make Costello believe that he cant possibly be a cop. Thus, Costigan becomes part of Costellos crew feeding inside information to the Boston PD, but all the while being forced to stay in character and participate in such extremes as murder. Its a do-it-or-die type deal.
At the same time, Sullivan is assigned to find an alleged rat in the Boston PD, which is just fine with him considering he is the rat. While Sullivan works hard to keep the police away from Costello, Costigan is doing all he can to build a case around Costello and take him down.
Its complicated stuff.
First up: performances. The biggest surprise Ive had in years will come in the form of another 2006 movie with a better cast doing better work than the cast of The Departed. Martin Scorsese is a great director because, if nothing else, he can take actors to places weve never seen them go before. Many of the actors here are doing the best work of their careers. Ive never been so sympathetic for Leonardo DiCaprio, or liked Martin Sheen as much, or been so scared of Jack Nicholson. Ive never laughed at Mark Wahlberg as hard, been so amused by Alec Baldwin, or been as mad at Matt Damon. And the list could continue.
Michael Ballhaus cinematography is really something to see here. Filmed as a subtle (very subtle) film noir, were shown some great nostalgic sites. A couple of really cool Third Man shadows get their screen time in there somewhere.
The Departed is, technically, a remake of a Hong Kong film called Internal Affairs, but the screenplay is allegedly (Ive never seen the Hong Kong version) very different. Screenwriter William Monahan (Kingdom of Heaven) writes as though hes been writing for Scorsese for years. The structure reminds me much of GoodFellas and Casino: fast-paced, with the accents of strategically placed narrations and breaks in chronology.
And, like those movies, The Departed is great for its flawless blend of fascination and entertainment. Many times, Scorsese chooses material that showcases the underbelly of organizations that we know of, but dont really know anything about. No one does this as well as Scorsese.
I can feel it coming; there is a sequence near the end of the film is which a large body count accumulates. And I know that one scene will turn off a lot of moviegoers simply because of who dies, and the nature of the deaths. Dont let this ruin such a grand film, such a quintessential piece of iconoclastic Martin Scorsese filmmaking. The concluding shot is priceless a truly ingenious example of frame work and metaphoric visual. It achieves exactly what a final shot was always meant to do, allowing the entire movie to flash through our head and have us remember what got us here in the first place. Its a shot that awards relief for those tolerant of that prior violent sequence, which consequently gives great new meaning to the term departed. ****