After directing two movies in the early 1990's featuring the Italian mob starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci and written by Nicolas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese turned away from gangsters and towards music, documentaries, and Leonardo DiCaprio. The Departed changes Scorsese's usual crime milieu, Italian-American mobsters, to the Irish mob in South Boston ("Southie"). Working from a script that Southie-raised William Monahan (Kingdom of Heaven, Jurassic Park IV based on the Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs, Scorsese brings many of the same cinematic tricks to this movie that he used in his previous mafia stories. In fact, except for the accents and the locations, the movie could be transported to Little Italy with almost no change.
The story is anchored by the performances of Leonard DiCaprio (Billy Costigan) and Matt Damon (Colin Sullivan), who are both pretending to be something they are not. Costigan is a Massachusetts State Police trainee who has infiltrated the gang run by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson in a role based on real "Southie" scum-bag Whitey Bulger). The fear and uncertainty he carries at being found-out is palpable and DiCaprio turns in a stellar performance. Sullivan is a Statie Detective, placed on the force by Costello to feed him information on police activities, which Sullivan does with increasing unease about his role. He doesn't walk around sweating and popping pills like Costigan, but the pressure of possibly being in over-his-head is clear on Damon's face.
Eventually, both "moles" realize that they have a counterpart and begin to hunt for each other while trying to avoid detection. Nicholson chews every piece of scenery he sees and, while his ability to control both Damon and DiCaprio feels very realistic, he's hard to buy as an Irish mob boss. His accent comes and goes and he's a bit over-the-top even in an over-the-top role. Ray Winstone as his number two man, Mr. French, would have been a better top guy; his performance is excellent. All the supporting performances are top notch, from Mark Wahlberg in an surprising Oscar-nominated turn as foul mouthed intelligence cop Sgt. Dignam, Alec Baldwin as Damon's dryly humorous boss, Ellerby, and even Martin Sheen, channeling RFK's accent as the State Police Captain in charge, Queenan. Scorsese's ability to get powerful, humorous, realistic performances out of this stellar cast is one reason that this movie works so well.
The performances are the strength of the movie, combined with the plot that keeps you riding a fine line on what will happen and highlights the stress that DiCaprio and Damon feel in leading their double-lives. One weakness is the relationship that, coincidently, both men have with police shrink Madolyn, played by relative unknown Vera Farmiga. The fact that both men are involved with the same woman comes off as forced, but beyond that, Farmiga is involved in many key scenes where Damon and DiCaprio reveal what internal parts of themselves they can, and she doesn't quite seem up to their level. Not enough to sink the scenes, but just a small drawback in an otherwise fine set of supporting performances.
The cat and mouse game played by the two leads under the eye of Nicholson and using cell phones as a key plot point is masterful and, in Scorsese's assured hands, scenes pop off the screen with tension. He also uses classic rock songs in his trademark manner, impressively setting time, place, or mood. However, his use of "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" a ferocious song by the celtic punk band The Dropkick Murphys during the title card sequence (following an 18 minute prologue) really kicks the movie into high gear and is a brilliant choice. That said, there are some camera tricks that feel just like that, tricks. No real purpose for the fast pan across Wahlberg's face or the pinpoint shot of Damon in front of police headquarters. Also, as has been mentioned in other reviews, the ending ten minutes doesn't exactly work. It is very much a "wow, I didn't see that coming" moment, but not exactly in a good way. It feels like a cheat.
About every five to ten years, Scorsese hauls out the guns, profanity, and voiceovers and looks at a group of men who live by their own rules. It always works. Sometimes it's a long-term classic and The Departed has that chance, although it will probably be eclipsed by Goodfellas when Scorsese's great gangster film is discussed. It looks like he will finally win a Best Director Oscar for his work this year, which will put him in league with Henry Fonda and others. Not winning for their best work, but winning for work that is pretty good just the same. |
The Departed (Two-Disc Special Edition) - DVD
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