I finally made it to a showing of The Departed last weekend. If Martin Scorsese's recent epics like Gangs of New York and The Aviator were a little too high-and-mighty for your taste, then The Departed might be just your style -- and given that there's a good chance this film will walk away with the statuette on Feb. 25, that seems to go for a lot of people.
This time, Scorsese returns to the streets -- of Irish south Boston. This taut (despite its two-and-a-half-hour length) thriller grabs you from the get-go as it sets the hook: Matt Damon as a mob rat in the Massachusetts State Police, Leonardo DiCaprio as a "Statie" mole in the mob. (The sharp, Oscar-nominated script by William Monahan is adapted from the Hong Kong gangster flick Internal Affairs.) Soon, the rat is on to the mole and vice versa, although their identities remain hidden. Then, the hunt is on.
It's a great cast, starting with DiCaprio's bottled-energy performance as Billy Costigan. Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin have a great time with the dialogue in their supporting roles. Jack Nicholson goes a little too Witches of Eastwick on us in a couple of scenes, but he conveys the menace of the mob kingpin.
This being Valentine's Day, I should note that those hoping for a romantic subplot would be best served elsewhere. Vera Farmiga is good as Damon's psychologist girlfriend, but the role is more plot device than romantic lead.
Scanning today's movie listings, it looks like The Departed is starting to depart from theaters again -- which may have something to do with the fact that it's now out on DVD. Either way, it's worth a look.
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I'm pretty sure that The Departed is the first Scorsese movie I've ever seen. Based soley on this movie, I can see how he's good, but I'm not sure I can tell why he's supposedly one of the best.
I really liked Damon and DiCaprio's performances, but I couldn't stand the dialogue given to Wahlberg and Baldwin.
It's nice that you mentioned Farmiga. I think she's been unfairly overshadowed by her higher-profile male co-stars. You're right that her presence is a bit of a plot device, but her performance was good enough to make me wonder why I haven't seen her in more before.
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