The Departed Movie Review: Fresh and Ferocious

Director Martin Scorcese reworks a remarkably intelligent gangster story in The Departed. Based on the popular Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs about a gang member infiltrating the police force while a new police officer infiltrates the gang, this Hollywood version pulses with energy, strong dialogues and superb performances. The brilliantly written narrative is both grittingly relaxed and violently intelligent.

Reinventing the genre with a uniquely American saga representing various issues of the society, The Departed offers a well-paced story with a stellar cast that makes a classic out of the expansive level of grace, action and tragedy it exposes. Magnificently directed, Scorsese's relaxed energy infuses the film with wits and excitement in every frame. It imparts coherence and conviction to a narrative that could have easily dwindled into a montage of action and chase scenes losing focus along the way. Indeed, the clever premise of this opus ends up quite bleak and yet very validating.

The commendable ensemble is toplined by Jack Nicholson as the powerful Irish mafia leader Frank Costello, Leonardo DiCaprio as the young undercover cop Billy Costigan, and Matt Damon as the young mafia member rising within the prestigious ranks of the city's police force Collin Sullivan. Mark Wahlberg also stars as the nastily straight cop figure Dignam. Martin Sheen portrays a supporting role as a police force head Oliver Queenan. Vera Farmiga who stars as Madolyn, a clinical psychologist primarily dealing with cops, becomes an effective intersection in the lives of the two spies.

DiCaprio brings such a level of intensity and maturity. The very core of his character becomes very evident with his acting. Meanwhile, Damon attacks his character differently. Compared to DiCaprio dealing with internal fissures and physical manifestations of his corruption being countered by medications, Damon doesn't let the audience get inside his character. Instead, being trained to become who he is, he effectively buries his emotions in a place of anonymity and numbness. Nicholson's strength exudes a validating aura that yields to his partly demented caricature character. Wahlberg is nasty and coarse as Dignam - and he brings out depth and adds dimension to the story.

Sheen's Queenan offsets the corrosiveness of the character of his immediate subordinate Dignam and he effectively contributes to the gray areas of the characters. Winstone as the emotionless killer and Alec Baldwin as the crime unit's captain are loyalists to the system, working opposite sides of the street. Farmiga is a welcome breath of femininity and female strength as she becomes the moral center of the film. She also becomes the pathway towards the revealing of the vulnerabilities of Sullivan and Costigan. Furthermore, the over-the-top Boston accents of the actors and actresses upholds the credibility of the film. Indeed, Scorcese's conviction for detail draws impact to every scene that even the minor characters fit well on screen. The screen time may be limited, but all of them really make lasting impressions - all of them rendering Oscar nominating performances.

Amidst the film's quality treatment, just one noticeably questionable part is the planting of the scene where Costigan gives an envelope to Madolyn and he tells her to open it after two weeks or when something bad happens to him. However, the said planting has never become clear. At the film's ending, the said planting seems skipped, and personally, this part falls short in interweaving the story into 'complete coherence.'As a top-of-the-line crime-gangster film, The Departed engulfs the audience's various perspectives and dilemmas in the society.

The Scorcese touch ranging from the cinematography to the production design to the acting to the sound and music elements makes a great film about Boston cops and mobsters. With the rich performances and a look and feel depicting such a cultural authenticity and realism, the story and characterization are weaved excellently. With the story focusing on the two spies from opposite ends, each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. From here, the rivalry between the Massachusetts police force and the Irish-American gang crosses paths with intertwining cat-and-mouse games. The creative side of coming up with such plotpoints engrosses the audience with all the stints and understatements. The tension build up in the various scenes is noteworthy. To mention one is the scene where the undercover police/criminal end up with each other's mobile phones which sums up the entire stretch of suspense-filled moments in the film.

The commendable 150 minutes of finely weaved story of both simplicity and complexity promotes Scorsese at his best. An Oscar worthy film about betrayal and sacrifice, Scorsese proves, once again, that he's the master of urban and action-packed storytelling. With the sizzling dialogues and no-holds-barred action, every cut in this film is a quality work. As a new American crime classic, The Departed is definitely a must see movie. This film stands alone fresh and ferocious.