Directed by:
Martin ScorseseCinematography:
Michael BallhausComposer:
Howard ShoreCast:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Corrigan (more)VOD (4)
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The Massachusetts State Police Department in South Boston is waging an all-out war to take down the city's top organised crime ring. The key is to end the reign of powerful mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) from the inside. A young rookie, Bill Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), is assigned to infiltrate the mob run by Costello. While Billy is working to gain Costello's trust, another young cop, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), is quickly rising through the ranks of the state police. Earning a spot in the Special Investigations Unit, Colin is among a handful of elite officers whose mission is to bring Costello down. But what his superiors don't know is that Colin is working for Costello, keeping the crime boss one step ahead of the police. (Entertainment in Video)
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Reviews (14)
I wanted to avoid comparisons with the Asian smash Infernal Affairs, of which The Departed is a remake. But if you know the original, in which the given story is filmed more briskly and more clearly, not a single character in it is a superficial poser (Jack Nicholson), and the Asian visuals are more exotic for a European than the worn-out “gritty America”, there is absolutely nothing stunning about the The Departed. Of course – Martin Scorsese and his court cinematographer are masters at what they do, so the film is never boring for even a second and we get to spend time in the company of the world’s acting elite, from whose characters the director gets maximum psychological enjoyment. But the film as a whole gives the impression that its makers didn’t approach it with as much love as they did The Aviator. Leonardo DiCaprio is the only one who gave his full commitment to the project and put his soul into it. With a few more roles in this vein, I will rank him among my personal top five actors. Otherwise, however, The Departed is merely a solid cops-and-mafia drama that leaves American audiences startled thanks to its ending, which is not what they’re used to from a Hollywood flick. The Departed deserves four stars in the context of current American productions, but definitely not in the context of the director’s filmography. I will gladly watch it again, but I can’t hide my slight disappointment.
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At the blessed age of sixty-four, Martin Scorsese delivers a gangster flick so precise that his colleagues a generation younger can only be quietly envious. The 150-minute trip amongst the highest police and mafia brass is told with incredible ease, the utmost sense of the perversity of both worlds (conveyed through the fatal love of one woman), and an absolutely divine dose of chilling black humor. You won't find an unnecessary movie window in this work, let alone a scene. Scorsese once again stylizes violence as a normal routine aspect of life, which he breaks at the very end only to play lightly with the viewer and show that even he doesn't have to take himself deadly seriously. The cast of the greatest actors is interspersed here, from the riveting DiCaprio to the relaxed Damon (any talk of overacting is bullshit!), the diabolical Nicholson, and to the absolutely brilliant Mark Wahlberg. Everything is underlined by stylish musical accompaniment, starting with Pink Floyd and ending with the thrilling punk blast of Dropkick Murphys. After finishing the film, I had only one desire: to watch this concentration of perfection again!
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I am not familiar with the Asian film Infernal Affairs, which forms a precursor to The Departed, and given my relationship with Asian productions, I am skeptical about the idea that it could interest me more. However, I don't have to address the lack of originality of the subject matter and how Scorsese dealt with it. Nonetheless, it is an interesting film that fully satisfies me on an emotional level. The duel of two professionals who infiltrate the enemy camp to gather information is full of tension and twists. A clever film with excellent casting, led by Leonardo DiCaprio. Overall impression: 90%.
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It’s against nature, but Marty is getting younger. This is the kind of fucking entertaining film that even a young kid in the director’s chair wouldn’t be ashamed of. Those almost two and a half hours passed by like water. In the case of the ensemble cast, it's pointless to comment on DiCaprio and Nicholson, they're chapters unto themselves, so I'll just single out the much-maligned Damon (that perfect smarmy crooked character, I can't imagine it could have been played any better) and especially Wahlberg (!!!), whose brilliantly written lines were a joy to listen to, and his banter with Baldwin made me laugh out loud. After the screening, I remembered Steven Spielberg's words that he "doesn't have to prove anything to anyone anymore and just wants to have fun with movies", I feel the same way about The Departed. I probably wouldn't give Scorcese an Oscar for it, in the context of his previous, albeit more notable work (if does get it, it will be mainly "for merit"), but it's gratifying that underneath the skin of the grey professor emeritus, there's still that old familiar rebel from the days of Mean Streets and Taxi Driver :)
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When I decided to go see The Departed, contrary to my original intention, I was firmly convinced that I would not try to compare it to the original. And yet in a movie where the best moments are those that copy it exactly, I can't do otherwise. As for the star-studded cast, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Martin Sheen are great, Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg are average, and Vera Farmiga and, to my huge surprise, Jack Nicholson, are terrible. It is his role in The Departed in particular that proves why the remake should not have been made. Instead of a subtle gangster leader, Costello is a sleazy and unnecessarily vulgar arrogant, who doesn't care about anything or anyone, and the screenwriters added a stupidly behaving female character between the two main heroes, which further diminishes the credibility of their mutual duel. And above all, I won't forgive Martin Scorsese for one fundamental thing: the suspenseful, emotionally charged, and, in my eyes, forever unforgettable final scene in the elevator, which was the highlight of the original, became a farce in the remake, cramming three twists into a few seconds, and the absurdly portrayed final shootout of the main characters provoked deserved and almost incredulous mockery in the movie theater. Scorsese destroyed a film that could have redefined the gangster genre if he hadn't merely dissected the original and wildly twisted it – and that has earned him everything possible from me, except for the promised pinnacle of his career.
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