When a great director returns to form after a series of slightly disappointing films, critics and fans tend to get a little bit overly excited. Such is the case with Martin Scorsese and his latest offering to audiences, The Departed. The film has been met with Oscar talk, and hyped to the heavens with critics slinging such lofty phrases as "masterpiece" and "Scorsese's best film since Goodfellas". No movie could ever live up to that kind of hype, and while it certainly tries, The Departed falls just a bit short. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good movie, and is more than worthy of your hard-earned movie dollar. The movie just takes a little while to find solid footing, and the final 10 or 15 minutes aren't as clever as the movie seems to think it is. Still, we've got some wonderful performances on display, and a legendary filmmaker returning to the kind of material that he excels in. Die-hard fans of Scorsese are bound to have a ball, while everyone else should see it for what it is - a lofty film with a few faults, but still manages to make a lasting impression and stay afloat, despite a butt-numbing running time of two and a half hours.

A remake of a Chinese film from four years ago, the film covers two young police officers leading very different lives, but actually share much in common, and whose lives are destined to collide. On one side, we have Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), a hard-edged and stressed out cop who has been assigned to go undercover and infiltrate one of the most dangerous and notorious criminal gangs working in Boston, led by the equally dangerous and notorious Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Billy is forced to hide his identity and his entire lifestyle the entire time he is in Frank's presence, passing himself off as a hardened ex-con. The pressures of pretending to be something he's not 24-7, along with the pressure of knowing that he could be discovered at any time by one of Frank's men, begins to push Billy close to the edge of insanity. On the other side, we have another officer named Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a dirty cop who actually is working for Frank Costello for real, and for years has secretly been helping Costello's gang stay one step ahead of the police. When the Police Chief (Martin Sheen) and his right-hand man (Mark Wahlberg) begin to suspect that there is a mole somewhere in the police department, they wind up hiring Colin to sniff out the guilty party. The inevitable confrontation that the movie builds to between the two very different young cops will lead to everyone's loyalties at the police department and in Costello's criminal gang being questioned.

Despite its lengthy running time, The Departed at least knows how to make just about every minute count. The film moves at a constantly brisk pace, slowing down just long enough for us to get to know the characters a little bit more. The screenplay by William Monaham knows how to juggle some very complex characters, morbidly dark humor, human drama, and some pretty well done and intense shootout sequences. This combined with the expert direction of Scorsese and the airtight editing of his longtime contributor, Thelma Schoonmaker, helps lift the film to higher levels than it would reach if someone else was involved. The movie takes a little while to truly get moving, but once it does, it moves like a speeding train and literally does not stop. There really is a lot to admire in this movie and how it was made. Nothing seems to have been left to chance, not even the soundtrack, which includes a number of classic rock numbers by The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and many others. With so many movies using popular music only to back up montages these days, it's refreshing to see a movie that actually knows how to use songs to enhance a scene, rather than simply to sell a tie-in soundtrack album. From beginning to end, you can see the care that Scorsese and crew have taken in making this film look great, sound great, and leave a lasting impression on viewers.

The only thing that holds The Departed back from true greatness are a couple problems with the script. The character of Billy, though fine in his finished form, seemed to be missing something. We never quite learn why he would be so willing to accept such a dangerous mission and give up his entire life. We never truly get to see the life he left behind, because he's constantly on the job in this movie. It's something I didn't really think of until after the film was over, but it would have been nice to see a little bit more of his life before he was forced to hide his identity. As mentioned earlier, the film also takes a little while to find the pace that the rest of the movie will follow. Though never boring, the movie does stumble a little bit with some areas that aren't as well developed as others, particularly the relationship that both Billy and Colin have with a female psychiatrist played by Vera Farmiga. And then there is the film's final act, which I would dare not spoil for you, but came across as being overly clever. It's almost like all of a sudden Scorsese and writer Monaham started laughing at us, and saying, "Hey, bet you didn't see this coming!" Unfortunately, it's not quite as smart or unexpected as it seems to think it is. As the climax goes on, I started anticipating what was going to happen, and I started to find myself being right. Throughout the film, the scenes of brutal violence was at least paced well and set far apart enough from each other so that it didn't become repetitive. During The Departed's final moments, the movie starts to resemble an overly violent bloodbath, loses all sense of character, and simply becomes interested in throwing us off guard and shocking us with violence. A movie this good deserved a better exit than an overly desperate attempt to surprise us.

Still, until the movie falls apart in a flow of blood and bullets, the film works thanks in no small part to the phenomenal cast that seem to be having the time of their lives. Jack Nicholson in particular as the twisted crime boss Frank Costello delivers a performance that will probably be remembered alongside some of his other more iconic "deranged" performances like in The Shining and the original Batman film. This is plainly his movie, and he seems to know it, taking every scene he's in and almost making you forget about everything else. Nicholson is timeless, and I hope we won't have to wait another three years for his next performance. Though none of the rest of the cast are able to quite live up to Nicholson (Who could, really?), they are all able to deliver fine and nuanced performances. Leonardo DiCaprio continues to rise above the teen girl sensation status he unfairly gained with Titanic. He's always been a true actor, ever since he was a teen, and this is yet another fine performance. Matt Damon, as the morally corrupt officer, gives his best performance in a long time. He is able to bring a certain amount of sinisterness to his usual charm, making him a truly detestable character, and I mean that in the best way. The other main standout is Mark Wahlberg as the foulmouthed right hand to the police department's head. He has a couple of choice scenes with both Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin, and helps make us forget his recent uninspired film, Invincible. Yeah, the character is a bit underwritten, but his performance helps make the character stand out more than he would if someone else was in the role.

The best way I can describe The Departed is that it is a nearly-great film. All the elements are there, but the script needed probably just one more rewrite before going before the cameras. Still, considering some of the stuff that's been clogging up theater space these past few months, The Departed is a movie that you simply can't ignore and are bound to enjoy. You can tell that everyone definitely tried and cared about making this movie memorable. I was slightly disappointed when the end credits started to roll, but only just a little. I thought more about this movie afterward than any other recent film, and that alone is worth something. It hasn't knocked United 93 off as my favorite film of the year so far, but I admire it for trying.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

1 comments