Before we start, this review of "The Departed" is going to attempt to stay away from spoilers of any kind. There will be a lot of "himself", "this character" and other similarly vague terms in order to sustain the surprises of the film for the audience. That being said, some plot points are going to be discussed. Proceed with caution.
Police dramas are a dime a dozen, especially on the television screen. As good as those shows might be, they can´t hold a candle to Martin Scorsese´s newest, "The Departed". This film is really two different stories: the first is about a cop in bed with a criminal out of some sense of loyalty the other is about a cop in bed with the same criminal with the express intent of bringing him down. With an all-star cast and a narrative that could have run another half hour past it´s already long-sounding 2 ½ hour running time, "The Departed" is the reason we go to the movies.
As a child, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is befriended by crime boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Through a quick series of images, Sullivan graduates the Boston Police Academy and ends up in a position where he can tip off Frank when the feds are after him. On the other end of the spectrum, Billy Costigan´s (Leonardo DiCaprio) entire family, save one person, are criminals in one way or another. That leads him to being recruited to infiltrate Costello´s crew in the hopes of finding information which will bring him down and-later on-find the rat.
Let me just say, quickly, that Leonard DiCaprio-once the world´s whipping boy for "Titanic"-has become one of the foremost movie stars in the world. There was a time not too long ago that he was a punch line. Really, though, that disaster film put him on the Hollywood map. Since then, he can count Tom Hanks, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich as his costars. That´s not including the talent he shares the screen with in "The Departed"-chief among them Jack Nicholson. What´s more is that he´s not coasting on previous work or on his looks his acting choices have been about his talent, talent that is on display full force here.
You can see the fire in his eyes, the hurt, the confusion, the frustration with every turn the movie takes. It´s never more evident than in the beginning when he is being interrogated by Staff Sergeant Dignam (a perfectly vicious Mark Wahlberg) in his first interview. His eyes become red as if on the verge of completely breaking down but he never loses the cool and, when he´s had enough, he goes on the offensive. And the eyes tell the entire story. They go from being a deer caught in the headlights to a lion ready to pounce on his prey. The fact that he manages to give Nicholson-his main costar-a run for his money throughout the film is an even better gauge as to how far he´s come in a few short years.
None of this is to say the rest of the cast do any less than DiCaprio. The actors-Nicholson, Damon, Martin Sheen, Wahlberg, Alex Baldwin-completely inhabit the characters and the world in which they live. Just about the only gripe anyone can have is with Nicholson´s Boston accent, or, more precisely, the way it fades in and out during the film. There are certain words that sound "Bostonian" but on the whole, this is Jack being Jack.
All of that being said, "The Departed" is a film that demands constant audience attention. Without it, the various twists and turns will fly in one ear and out the other. Why? There are numerous subplots: who knows who, how they know each other, the various sides everyone is on and why they pledge their allegiance the way they do. While the acting is one of the reasons to take 2 ½ hours and see "The Departed", it´s not the only one. Again, as I said before, in the interest of not spoiling what is a wild movie, we´re going to talk about the plot in general and vague terms.
First off is the final 15 minutes. Unless you´ve seen the film on which "The Departed" is based (which would be "Wu jian dao"), it might be a shock. Really, when you think about it, there isn´t any other way the film can end. This is a story about people who lie, murder, cheat, steal…they are duplicitous and looking out for only their best interests. While some of them have honorable intentions (such as Costigan), others are clearly doing the wrong thing for the right reason. Case in point is Sullivan. He jeopardizes his entire career and future by feeding information to Frank. Why? Because he was a father figure when Colin was young. Loyalty is to be admired foolish allegiances when you know something is wrong is nothing more than folly.
Second is the execution of the story by director Scorsese. He doesn´t tell us what to think of the various players in the drama by employing ominous camera angels or "villainous" lighting. Now, we´re left to make our own decisions as to what to think about the characters. And he doesn´t take any shots at our current political climate-save for a chuckle at the expense of the Patriot Act. Additionally, the movie takes place in Boston, not the director´s favorite milieu of New York (ironically, the movie was mostly shot in the Empire State, though). It deals only minimally with religion, another Scorsese hallmark. Everything the camera does is steady and designed to make the narrative as straightforward for the audience as possible. A lesser director might have tried something a bit different to make the audience ooh and aah. Not here. Every shot is grounded in reality and nearly all of them come from the vantage point of a person watching on the sidelines.
As gripping and Oscar worthy as "The Departed" is, it´s not flawless. I´m perfectly willing to let a contrivance or two go in the interest of forwarding the plot. But when a main character who has been as careful as possible through the film to cover his tracks leaves a damning piece of evidence lying on a desk where another character can find it, it´s a plot device, not an event that evolves organically from the story. I also felt one of the shocking moments halfway through the film was contrived, along with the requisite fallout. Watch for the swan dive off a roof and then a rather pointless scuffle for a computer code. Extraneous, really, and something that could have been edited out.
In that swan dive, you have to wonder why said character goes to this location by himself. Yes, he has a position of authority and should be able to take care of himself. But he doesn´t tell anyone where´s he going and heads off into a seedy part of town without any backup. Why? Of course, it´s a function of the plot. This person needs to exit stage left with everything he knows, leaving someone else in a bit of a bind. It´s convenient that the one of the two people with the truth dies off and the other removes himself from the situation shortly thereafter.
(Yes, yes, I know this is a remake and has source material to stick to. It doesn´t mean I have to like it.)
I hesitate to mention anything about the ending at this particular time. It is a severe mind trip in every which way…and comes out of left field. From what we know in the preceding 2 hours of the film, this person should not do the thing he does. But it does happen and it left at least my viewing group scratching their heads. Vengeance or rat? I still can´t tell you.
Normally, a contrived or trite ending totally destroys a movie for me, but whatever issues I might have with it does not discount what has come before. And the confluence of acting, writing, directing and production is a pleasure to behold on all levels. This is another feather in the directing cap for Scorsese and should put him in the running for a Best Director Oscar. A rock solid cast, a script that knows when it should be humorous and some jarring moments make "The Departed" one of the best pictures of the year. Definitely an 8 out of 10, but not for the squeamish.