The Departed Review
by Tim Voon (winklebeck AT hotmail DOT com)October 17th, 2006
The Departed 2006
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 2006 Timothy Voon
4 out of 5 stars
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Alec Baldwin Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenplay: William Monahan, based on the screenplay Infernal Affairs by Alan Mak and Felix Chong
Let's begin by saying that much of my admiration for Martin Scorsese's work rests in the camps of 'The Age of Innocence' and 'The Aviator' and not so much in the camp of 'Goodfellas'. I believe his craft and subtlety of story telling in the fore mentioned, speaks volumes more to me personally than those that were delivered at the point of a gun with the exception of 'The Departed'.
At heart, 'The Departed' is a gangster, good cop bad cop movie based on theHong Kong action flick 'Infernal Affairs'. This movie plays out like a game of chess where you cannot predict the ending from the first few moves of the board; and like a game of chess, the major pieces are guarded by the pawns until they have to be sacrificed in a bloodbath of bullets in order to win the game.
The strength of this movie lies not so much in how it started or ended, but within the journey of gradual suspense building and story telling that is unique to Scorsese. The audience is slowly drawn into this movie as he teases us with a dramatic situation - who will catch the informer placed in their camp first? Leonardo Di Caprio is the police plant in the gangster mob, and Matt Damon is the gangster mole in uniform. This tension created by Scorsese is in my mind the most exciting part of the film. It is this literal tug-o-war and dance of wit and cunning between Damon and Di Caprio that shapes some of this movie's finer moments. You can literally see the strain on their faces, as each is placed at risk of exposure when one compromising situation rises up after another.
Di Caprio is excellent as he teeters on the verge of a breakdown when with each passing moment his cover could be exposed. This nicely contrasts Damon's portrayal of a slick corporate cop who handles his tough situations with quick thinking and innovation. Nicholson isn't wasted as the blood thirsty gangster mob boss, and Sheen and Wahlberg give strong supporting performances.
Reflecting on this movie, I would surmise that if it had been directed by anyone else or carried a less talented cast it may have been labeled 'just another English remake of a foreign film'. However, Scorsese can be confident that this movie will not fall into this category, as he has stamped it with his own personal trade mark of well directed movies.
Timothy Voon
Email - [email protected]
Web - http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?Tim+Voon
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