The Departed

by Ari

Martin Scorsese has indeed returned to his old habits with the forceful and brutal crime drama The Departed. Fueled by anger, violence, and foul language, The Departed is a grand entertainment by the king of blood-spattered crime spectacle. Already being excessively touted as Scorsese’s best film since Goodfellas, The Departed is neither deep nor thematically complex - a rather direct and commercial entertainment with the same purpose as something like Cape Fear. The Departed is built on the notion of having a good time at the movies, and it does that better than anything else released this year so far. Scorsese uses the visceral intensity he created for Goodfellas and Casino to pace this story of undercover cops and criminals, and it’s that explosive quality that has earned it comparison. But The Departed is not the achievement of those two masterpiece crime epics. Those films envelope the audience in a deeply complex and meticulously recreated world of organized crime and culture, which is intrinsically more compelling than the usual gangster/cop ideas developed in this picture. Those films delve into layers and layers of storytelling and theme while The Departed is only concerned with energy, movement, and excitement. Traces of moral conflict can certainly be found in the characters, especially DiCaprio’s lead undercover cop (Scorsese describes DiCaprio’s expressions as “a battlefield of moral conflict") as well as issues of guilt and honesty, but where the great Scorsese film explores his themes, The Departed does not. This film is concentrated on sheer cinematic force, something it does indeed accomplish with ease. Scorsese is having fun here, and the result is an exceptionally pleasing, confident, and suspenseful thriller that hits you hard....repeatedly.

Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) is an undercover cop infiltrating the South Boston criminal organization of Irish gang boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Costigan is from a family of criminals, but looking to gain a more respectable name for himself. The only people who know of his real identity are his superiors Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and the particularly foul-mouthed, somewhat berserk officer Dignam (Mark Wahlberg). Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a young police officer promoted to a special investigation unit, but what nobody knows is that he’s a carefully placed mole from Costello himself. So there are rats on both ends - in the police department and in the criminal organization. The Departed is a loose remake of the solid, but terribly overrated Hong Kong crime film Infernal Affairs, and besides a similar concept, the films are nothing alike. Infernal Affairs is more subtle, with both moles growing a level of respect for each other over the course of the film. The Departed is about explosive intensity and violence and malice. This a Scorsese picture from beginning to glorious end. The moles are linked by a psychiatrist played by the excellent Verma Farmiga. She’s Colin’s girlfriend, but has a romantic entanglement with DiCaprio that is surprisingly well done considering how needless it could have been. Tension rises on both sides as problems escalate, especially when each side realizes that they have a rat in their organizations.

While the plot is a nice piece of suspense storytelling, it’s Scorsese’s direction and editing and the actor’s performances that make The Departed so enjoyable. The first sequence between DiCaprio and Nicholson is a perfect example. It’s tense, it’s brutal, but it’s outrageously amusing. The humor in many of Scorsese’s films is quite memorable, and screenwriter William Monahan gives the director and actors some delicious over-the-top dialogue filled with expletives, slurs, and tough-guy attitude. Watching Nicholson slam a boot on DiCaprio’s already broken hand while yelling “Are you a cop?! Are you a fucking cop?!” is vintage Scorsese. Nicholson has about two dozen memorable lines and several unforgettable sequences, from “Who let this IRA motherfucker in my bar?!....Just kidding, how’s your mother?” to a particularly lunatic sequence of humor in a porn theater. His performance is fierce and hilarious - the Bill the Butcher of this film.

Damon is sly, cold, but charming. He’s a talented actor who gives his best performance as a snake within the police department. Audience favorite will most definitely be Mark Wahlberg, who’s character is the single most ludicrously insulting bastard I’ve seen in film in quite some time. The best and most emotional performance is from DiCaprio, the character who provides depth and feeling to the chaos at hand. This is DiCaprio's third collaboration with Scorsese, and it looks like he’s finally getting the credit he’s due. DiCaprio is one of the most talented and determined actors working today, and he gives an intense and emotional portrait of a man fearing for his life in a world of bloodshed and death. Whether he’s beating the hell out of two Italian gangsters or trying his best to convince Nicholson he’s not a rat, his performance is real and captivating.

Thelma Schoonmaker is the best editor of the last thirty years. Scorsese’s style is relentless, and Schoonmaker puts it together as masterfully as ever. The editing is highly impressive, with moments that earn gasps and screams from the audience. The violence in The Departed isn’t as brutal as Casino, but it’s very strong. It’s a bloody mess, simply put. The constantly moving, gliding, and intense camerawork by Goodfellas/Age of Innocence/Gangs of New York cinematographer Michael Ballhaus is excellent. Technical credits are superb.

The Departed isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s one hell of an entertainment. This is one I’ll certainly enjoy watching again and again.