The Departed is a huge movie by Martin Scorsese that has about 4 or 5 throwaway scenes and one rather obvious continuity problem in a scene where Jack Nicholson probably farted or did something to throw Matt Damon's game off. Other than that, it's a great movie. But I have to say that it's not as great as Eastwood's Mystic River, but it's right up there.
Nevertheless, It has been a very long time I saw a movie with as many real American men portayed in the midst of the dilemmas that define them as men. Because of that, this is something more than a police drama or a gangster movie, it's one of those rare films that capture the spirit of what it feels like to be a man, caught up. This one happens to be about young men, and it's damned good. The last film that approached such territory and handled it well was Tom Hanks' excellent Road to Perdition.
The Departed is a smart plotty thriller with some of the saltiest, snappiest dialog ever in this genre. It's a through and through Irish and Italian Boston barnburner of a movie that revolves around the mystery and double dealing that happens when two moles in rival organizations try to discover each other's identities. That makes for some very dramatic tension and more plot twists and cliffhangers than I was prepared to deal with going in, but it was well worth it. There is a deep spy double agent vibe in this.
In a great scene reminescent of Lawrence Fishburne in 'Deep Cover', Leo DiCaprio discovers that he's about to be used as a deniable undercover operative, but not before he undergoes the most inquisitorial ball busting interview ever captured on film.
The film moves at a brisk pace and although it takes a while to get twisty and complex it does so in a hurry. The ending is great, bordering on magnificent. Without question this is the best cop & gangster film since Mystic River with fine performances all around, even Matt Damon. But special props go out to Mark Wahlberg whom I think for the first time in his life, gets to portray somebody close to who he really is. He should get best supporting actor for this one.
One more note. There has been an interesting meme floated around last week about the fact that the FBI only has about 33 Arabic speakers and it is the reason they are unable to crack Al Qaeda. That the higher ups at the Bureau are mostly Irish and Italians and that's because their generation of leadership cut their teeth busting up crime families that they were able to infiltrate handily. This is the film that shows how cozy that relationship is. Sounds like truth to me.
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