10/10 Movie:
Departed (2006)
The Departed, while not Scorsese's best film, is simply fantastic. It deserved the Oscar.
This is not a perfect film, but the holes in the plot are ones that I do not find to be important in knowing in order to understand the film. If Dignam knew about Sullivan, and that is an if, how did he find out? Did the ending occur because he knew, or because he hated Sullivan? Why was anyone other than Costigan, Sullivan, or Brown (Anthony Anderson) at the building when Costigan and Sullivan meet for the second time? Like I said, the film is not perfect. The plotholes have explanations, but none that are given in the film itself. None of them are outlandish, in my opinion. The central themes are not impacted by the minor holes.
The Departed is another drama based around crime from Martin Scorsese, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, as well as other stellar performers. It tells a story of deceit, honor, loyalty, and rats. All four of those words are synonymous at various points throughout The Departed. We see different characters putting on acts that would have serious consequences, even death, if the acts were not believable.
One could take multiple messages away from the film. Karma, while sometimes a cliche' word and theme, is one. If one deceives, one faces the consequence(s). The larger meaning of the film is based around the morality of said deception, and the weight that these morals have on one's conscience. Deception, most would agree, is not moral. Is it moral if you are an undercover police officer? Is the act of deception moral in some circumstances? You may say yes, but after seeing what William Costigan, Jr. had to endure, I must question whether it was worth it. Obviously, it is not for Costigan, but being put in the same, or similar (on a lesser scale), situation, what would you do? It is a loaded question, and I've not answered it.
Scorsese does a great job of creating tension between characters, and also does a great job of creating tension with a character when the character is by himself. We see the tension in Sullivan when he is sitting in his office by himself, right before he calls Costigan. We know what he is thinking and feeling, despite there being no dialogue in that specific scene. The tension between characters is nearly as intense as it was in Goodfellas, the scene in The Departed that comes to mind is the scene between Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio in the bar. "I smell a rat." The scene is as intense as any scene I've seen from Scorsese. The movie really plays off the tension that is created.
The acting in The Departed is outstanding. Some claim that Nicholson overacts. I must disagree; I thought Nicholson played a great insane crime boss. Leonardo DiCaprio further cements himself as one of Hollywood's best. Matt Damon gives us a stellar performance that also gives him clout in Hollywood. Mark Wahlberg is not a favorite actor of mine, but he does an outstanding job. I overlooked his performance the first time I watched this film, and every time I've viewed it since then, I've found myself loving his performance more than the previous viewing. I don't want to waste your time praising every actor/actress's performance, so I'll just say this - everyone was believable. Those whom I noted were outstanding.
The Departed is a must-see film. It is not Scorsese's best, but it is one of the best crime dramas I've seen since Michael Mann's Heat, if not the best since then. The way Scorsese tells a story is simply fantastic. While the cinematography isn't as good as Casino and Goodfellas, everything else is in the same league. Some say that if any of Scorsese's films deserved the picture of the year award, it wasn't The Departed. While I agree that Goodfellas and Casino (and others, those are just my two other favorite Scorsese films) could easily have received the awards for their respective years, The Departed is nearly as deserving.
I will leave you with a quote from Frank Costello that really drives home the message of the film.
"When I was growing up, they would say you could become cops or criminals. But what I'm saying is this. When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?"
