Review of The Departed (2006) by Vguru R — 25 Nov 2014

Plot twists can be very fun or annoying in movies-it all depends on their execution. However, THE DEPARTED (2006), one of my favorite movies of ALL TIME, is a movie in which "the big twist" is revealed to the audience-purposefully-within the first 20 minutes, yet I was intrigued, enthralled, and excited the entire time. Directed by the legend Martin Scorsese, The Departed is a remake of the critically acclaimed Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs (2002). The film takes place in Boston in which rookie cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to work his way into the inner circle of ruthless Irish mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson); however Costello also has his own mole in the police department, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), who constantly feeds information to Costello about the cops' plans. What follows is a brilliant and suspenseful game of cat and mouse between each man's attempts to discover the other's identity before his cover is blown. The film also stars Mark Wahlberg (who got a Supporting Actor Oscar nod), Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, and Vera Farmiga.

The Departed is one of the only two movies in which I'll say the remake was BETTER than the original. And it's the movie for which Scorsese finally won the Best Director Oscar, though I think he should have won it years ago for Goodfellas. The Departed also won Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing. I know a lot of people who say that Infernal Affairs was better, and don't get me wrong, I think it's fantastic. But for me The Departed was on a whole other level, large in part to Scorsese's direction and the performances. Surprisingly enough, when Scorsese signed to direct The Departed he did not know it was a remake in the first place. However he never watched the original until he was finished with The Departed first. That only added on to why it is so great: it's a remake, but feels entirely like its own DISTINCT movie in the pantheon of Scorsese films. It sucks you into the story immediately too, it is a very engaging film. You could probably find this on TV somewhere, and you'll go to it thinking "Eh, I'll watch like 5 minutes." And then later you look at your phone and realize it's been 2 hours instead. Then again, this is the situation for a lot of Scorsese movies. The film was also the 3rd Scorsese-DiCaprio collaboration, but The Departed is my favorite of them all (others are Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Shutter Island, and The Wolf of Wall Street).

The revelation was DiCaprio himself-this was definitely the first adult role that he actually grew into, and he literally stole almost every single scene while acting alongside acting legends like Nicholson and Sheen. In fact, every single performance in this film was PHENOMENAL and I absolutely LOVED all the characters too. The Departed would be useless if it did not have strong, intricate characters. As for DiCaprio specifically, definitely one of the best performances of his career and in my opinion one of the most important ones. I feel the most sorry for Costigan though. No one is more of a tortured soul than him in this film. Without a doubt he is my most favorite character in the movie, but it is a rather brutal performance for sure. I had first seen this movie at fairly young age, and there's one scene in particular in which I honestly was on the verge of tears. I hadn't really been a fan of DiCaprio at the time because all I saw before it was Titanic (which I did like). I became a bigger fan of his after Departed though. DiCaprio would have totally gotten the Best Actor nod for THIS movie if he had not starred in Blood Diamond the same year-I think Costigan was better, but no point in getting nominated twice in the SAME category.

His counterpart on the other hand, Damon aka Sullivan, was spectacular. It is so fun to hate this character (which you're supposed to do anyway) but the way Damon plays Sullivan is amazing and quite deceiving. This guy is a much more collective criminal than most, and honestly if I met the character in real life and hung out with him for some time, never once would I doubt him. Yet he is a mole for the mob. His chemistry with Vera Farmiga was great and seeing their back-and-forth was awesome, but it is large in part due to the astounding screenplay. Costello was hands down a fantastic villain and one of Jack Nicholson's best performances. Nicholson completely enveloped himself in the cruelty and viciousness of this veteran mob boss, but at the same time allowed some levity for the character. Actually, the character of Frank Costello is loosely based off of Whitey Bulger too. He brilliantly portrayed this character and is one of the funniest but also most terrifying people in this movie. For those who have seen it, the "I smell a rat" scene... Top three of the most suspenseful scenes in the movie. And that is just with Costello sitting across from Costigan and talking to him. Then in another scene, he takes a boot and slams down on Costigan's broken hand (for reasons I shall not disclose) showing the immense brutality of the character as well.

The last of the main cops is Mark Wahlberg, who plays Sergeant Dignam, one of the cops that assign Costigan on the undercover mission-mind-blowingly good. He is so good that he is the only supporting actor to get an Oscar nod, even past Nicholson, Damon, and Sheen. Yeah, Walhberg was that awesome. Quick witted, foul-mouthed, to-the-point, sarcastic-was this not a great role for him? I actually find this to be his second best performance of his career, and it was nice to see him play more than a tough guy and show off some real acting chops. Of course, if you get a job in a Scorsese production, you are obviously obligated to give it your all. But I have really enjoyed Wahlberg's successful transition from music to acting-not a lot of musicians act well and many aren't willing to put in the work. But Wahlberg is an exception and I've really enjoyed his films. Finally I have to talk about Vera Farmiga. This was my first exposure to her and I'm baffled as to why she has not gotten more recognition. She's been in more movies, but I don't hear too much buzz around her-she was even in that Jason Reitman film Up in the Air, but people only talk about George Clooney and Anna Kendrick for that movie. This year she had The Judge........... In The Departed her character could have totally been a discarded role. Yet even there I thought it was a very complex and at times a conflicted character, and Farmiga was magnificent in the role too. As for her Boston accent, well, that comes and goes, but for me it didn't really affect my perception of her performance.

Now the score. Again PHENOMENAL!!! No, no this was... The amazing awesomeness of Howard Shore's score, specifically the main theme (which I believe is called Cops and Criminals) cannot be described so simply. Even as I gush about it now, it will not be enough. The main theme for The Departed added so many more layers for this movie because it made it all feel like... a dance. And with the whole point of the film being this cat and mouse game, the score really contributed to that. On top of that, the score felt like- It didn't feel extremely dark and violent, which I think was necessary because Shore's actual score instantly carries you along on the characters journey and it was actually quite essential for me to connect with both the characters and the story. It made me feel as if I'm watching a movie with real human beings, instead of over the top serious and growling cops/criminals bent on killing on each other. Other technical aspects were perfect as well, especially the incredible script, written by William Monahan, and the editing. Thelma Schoonmaker is an editor who has worked with Scorsese for over FORTY YEARS; she's been working with him ever since his debut feature. In this one... I'm speechless. There is not one shot that is unnecessary, there is not one scene that could have been shortened up a bit-overall an amazing job! The Departed also has some quotable lines, many from Costello, such as "Cop or criminal. When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?" or " I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.".

Ultimately, The Departed is absolutely one of the best crime dramas of all time!!! This gritty, intelligent film immediately engrossed me within the violent, yet also intriguing world of mobsters and cops. I cannot find any faults with the film. From the script written in pre-production to the editing done in post, everything was perfect. And the ending.... Why the hell did SPOILERS have to be invented? The ending was jaw dropping. The last twenty minutes of this movie were just astounding, and...Everyone please just experience it for themselves. The Departed easily fits in among the best of the plethora of Scorsese films and is definitely a must see movie, especially if you're a film fan or enjoy experiencing remarkable masterpieces of cinema (and check out Infernal Affairs too) - 100/10.