I finally watched the Best Picture of 2006, according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I've thought about it for a few days, and I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about it.
I can say it was extremely well directed. The pacing was brilliant, the soundtrack with some recurring theme music was strategically interesting, and the direction was appropriately rewarded. Marty did not disappoint.
The balance I'm trying to strike is how I feel about the ultimately interesting but semi-unlikely setup of this particular cat-and-mouse. Not only is it a sort of adaptation from an earlier movie, but the sensibility of this picture reminded me quite a bit of Heat, a film that Scorsese did not direct but that two of his particular friends and possible muses starred in. Like The Departed, it plays very heavily on the celebrity status of the two leads and finds the fictional characters' lives--diametrical opposites and yet not completely, sharing small but significant similarities--as dramatically interwoven as that of Collin ("Collie") and Billy.
Matt Damon plays the former, an associate of Irish-mafia boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), who has infiltrated the Massachusettes State Police as a possible mole/rat. His record is spotless, he has been an otherwise upstanding citizen, a good student, and he is, therefore, completely unsuspected. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the latter, a cadet with a checkered family and history in crime looking for atonement in the arms of the law, who is tapped by the Detective Unit staffed by Martin Sheen and his co-hort played by Mark Wahlberg (can't remember all the names), to infiltrate Costello's gang and build a case against him. Things go very much awry when these counterparts grow gradually closer to discovering each other.
It's hard to boil this plot down like this because there were very many more layers than this, but this is the basic premise. On the one hand, I found the film brilliant. Especially brilliant was Leo and, regardless of what people may say of him, I understand why Marty has found his new muse in Leo. The guy can really act. The nuances of the tortured Billy character, his ticks, his temper, his nervousness, his emotional baggage and turmoil, all were conveyed effortlessly by DiCaprio. King of the World aside, he really was mesmerizing.
Mark Wahlberg gave a hilarious turn as the loose cannon cop in charge of undercover detectives in the field. Also funny was Alec Baldwin as another cop in charge of coordinating raids. In fact, the acting was brilliant all around. Jack Nicholson used his natural quirkiness in an effective way playing eccentric mob boss Costello.
On the other hand, I don't know as I can say I loved the film when it all comes down to it. Perhaps it was due to the shocking twist at the end. Perhaps it was the subject matter. Ultimately, I think it's because I felt like I've seen this movie before, just in a slightly different milieu with different actors. I'm not sure yet on where I stand as far as whether it deserved Best Picture. I have a few more to watch before I can make that decision. I just didn't love it as much as I thought I would, and it's hard for me to articulate why. At least it's a movie that prompts one to think deeply, or it did so for me.
On my ratings scale (and oh how I've been laboring over this), I think I am going to rate it a 9.5. In some ways, it was almost a masterpiece. Really and truly but almost. That half point I've docked comes from the as yet intangible and indescribable element that I'm struggling with, that prevents me from having truly loved the movie. Is that fair? I can't think of a fairer way to do it. I was initially going to rate it lower, but with the Oscar under its belt and others' reviews, I was not sure if that was fair either. So, I opted to go with a rating that I felt at least somewhat represented my thoughts, as incohesive as they seem to be this time around.
As to my test, I can't say it passes outright. Perhaps, if I give the film another look and pay attention to details I didn't notice the first time, I will totally change my mind in the end. Right now, I'm simply left with the fact that I watched an intense, ultimately tragic, and as such, emotionally draining movie, thanks to brilliant acting and directing. I'd say that's good for now.