Who?

Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson to name a few. Scorsese brings a star studded cast of actors to the mix, many in smaller roles throughout the film but still providing an amazing performance. In particular I loved Mark Wahlberg’s character (Dignam) and the horrible dynamic he had with Costigan.

If you haven’t heard of any of these people before:

• pick up the rock you’ve been living under
• search any one of them up
• watch a film
• …
• profit

What?

With a 2.5 hour runtime, The Departed keeps you on the edge of your seat for essentially all of it. The film focuses particularly on three characters:

• Jack Nicholson’s Frank Costello, Irish mob boss with a penchant for hookers, cocaine, classical music and violence like any worthy gang leader
• Matt Damon’s Colin Sullivan, the rat in the police department groomed by Costello from a young age to do his bidding. Lacks morality but very intelligent.
• Leonardo DiCaprio’s Billy Costigan, an undercover police officer who joins Costello’s crew. The underdog of the film, constantly depressed and needing medication (but that is understandable considering he lives in Boston). In a consistent cat and mouse game with Sullivan as they try to figure out who’s the rat for their respective sides

While having a pretty long runtime (though nothing in comparison to the last 10 years of Hollywood 3-hour epics which fight for your attention span) the Departed never feels tired or uninteresting; there are a variety of smaller subplots, character arcs and small bits of world building that always keep your eyes glued to the screen.

Why?

Comparing to other “criminal underground” films that Scorsese had made before, particularly Goodfellas or Gangs of New York, the setting and focus of this film is quite different; while both deuteragonists are associated with gangs, with an assortment of great gang scenes set in grungy bars or dilapidated houses, there is a much closer examination of police activity and the inner machinations of the department. The film is set in relatively modern times (2006) and hence has no troubles integrating new technology into the abilities of both sides of the criminal coin: the police department and the criminal organisations exploit the technology available to them in order to make their lives easier and better catch/escape from the other.

Furthermore, in classic Scorsese fashion when shoot outs or fights occur they are incredibly quick, their consequences sudden and unexpected. This is perhaps highlighted best in one of the final scenes in the film as well as the last scene, but I can’t spoil the film so check it out if you wanna know what I’m talking about. Death is brutal but not glorious, quick and forceful. Of course, there are no other films with a better understanding of this than Taxi Driver but that’s for another review.

Finally, all main characters (except perhaps one) are morally questionable at best, despicable at worst. Their morality is twisted in order to better achieve their goals, some from the inception of their character while others through their subsequent arc. I find this aspect of the film most appealing, particularly in conjunction with the previous point; at any point a character may die and, though you may find yourself frustrated by this, there is no question that they have done many horrible acts that make retribution completely deserved if not necessary.

When

Right now watch it haha.