The Departed Review
by [email protected] (dnb AT dca DOT net)October 18th, 2006
THE DEPARTED
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2006 David N. Butterworth
*** (out of ****)
Marty Scorsese's "The Departed" is the riverbank tale of a rat and a mole, but it's unlikely to be confused with any bedtime story sprung from the pen of Kenneth ("The Wind in the Willows") Grahame.
The river is Boston's glorious Charles and the rat and the mole in question are two of the prestigious Massachusetts Police Academy's best and brightest: William "Billy" Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon). Shortly after graduation Costigan is recruited as an undercover agent by the city's Special Investigation Unit to infiltrate the Irish-American mafia headed up by mob boss Frank Costello while recent cadet Sullivan leads a similar double-life as Costello's right-hand informant in the Boston Police Department.
Working undercover, both "staties" live their lives under a daily fear of exposure that will doubtless cost them their lives. When each learns of a spy within their midst the race is on to be the first to reveal the other.
"The Departed" is the kind of film my wife likes to refer to (not necessarily favorably) as Big Men Shouting movies. It's Jack Nicholson shouting "You can't handle the truth!" in "A Few Good Men" or Alec Baldwin shouting "It takes brass balls to sell real estate!" in "Glengarry Glen Ross" or Martin Sheen simply shouting (to be heard over the roar of all those helicopters) in "Apocalypse Now." Nicholson, Baldwin, and Sheen are all in "The Departed" as are Mark Wahlberg and Ray Winstone (in addition to DiCaprio and Damon of course). That's plenty of men, therefore--big ones too--and they sure know how to shout (not to mention serve up satisfying South Shore accents).
One of the few women in the film, besides the occasional desk sergeant or one of Costello's cerebrally-challenged lovelies, is the department's staff psychiatrist, played by Vera Farmiga, who finds herself torn between Costigan and Sullivan. Farmiga, who's got a Sarah Michelle Gellar meets Patricia Arquette look about her, ably holds her own alongside her more masculine cohorts; she exudes confidence and professionalism with a liberal dose of sexy sophistication--the future looks bright for this talented 'Jersey girl.
Those who feel that Nicholson's pretty much done it all and then some when playing devilishly deranged denizens should check out "The Departed" since Jack's back... with a vengeance! Frank Costello is another diabolical entry in the veteran actor's copy book of crazed, carnal caricatures (I particularly enjoyed his vermin impersonation over drinks). Damon is surprisingly strong and DiCaprio's even stronger yet you've got to hand it to the likes of Sheen, Baldwin, and Wahlberg for accepting less-showy--but no less effective--supporting roles.
William Monahan's screenplay takes as its source the Hong Kong hit "Mou Gaan Dou" ("Infernal Affairs") and turns the whole thing operatic, reveling in the bloodletting, the male bravado, the profane, crackerjack dialogue (which isn't without its humorous moments lest you mistake all this for perennial doom and gloom).
With films like "Goodfellas," "Casino," and "Mean Streets" director Scorsese has long since proved to be a master at gangland crime dramas and "The Departed" is no exception, a brutal cat-and-mouse thriller that threatens to boil over at any moment. When it does, few rodents are spared.
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David N. Butterworth
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