The Departed (2007, HD DVD)

In a break from my normal methods of reviewing films, I thought that the end result of this film was worth noting, even before I dove into the description of the story and the plot. So well made was this film, that I think it should be seen even if you have very little information on the subject matter, and simply know that it stars the likes of Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio. Martin Scorsese has really upped the ante' on police dramas with his latest film The Departed. In doing so, he put together an exemplary cast of actors that achieved every goal of the film, and showed off a well-written screenplay with superb characters. Both Director Scorsese and the writers deserve a lot of credit for concocting a dramatic piece that was not only believable, but equal parts exciting and interesting. The acting is top-notch, and showcases some of the best on-screen performances that I have seen from most of them. This is a film that is sure to get Scorsese noticed with a Best Director nomination, and it wouldn t surprise me if some of the actors got nods on nomination day as well.

The primary role of this film is played by Jack Nicholson, as Irish crime-boss Frank Costello, who basically runs a section of the streets within Boston. His power is far-reaching, and that includes right into the police department that has been working for some time to bring him down. Caught in the web that Costello has created are Billy Costigin (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and Colin Sullivan (played by Matt Damon). Sullivan has been working for Costello for years, and has made his way up into the Massachusetts Police Department. His persona as a mole within the police has gone unnoticed for some time, and through his contacts, he is able to feed information back to the Costello gang. Costigin on the other hand, is an undercover police informant, who has himself become a part of Costello s gang in order to send information on the undertakings of this mob back to the police. So the story works with these two "moles", as they proceed to work without knowledge of their counterpart even existing.

The film takes a turn when both the mob and the police start to suspect that they have a traitor in their midst, and the twist occurs when they are tasked to basically find themselves. The way that the entire story is set up, and the methods used to instill a belief that what the audience is seeing could happen is done extremely well. The drama of the story builds, as we start to actually care for characters involved in the story, and it becomes a really tense game of cat and mouse as both characters try to maintain their facades while still holding true to their original intents. Both Damon and Dicaprio are as good as I have ever seen them, and you start to lose the sense that they are actors, and while the film progresses, you no longer see past what they are showing on screen. For Dicaprio, this role is a real departure from anything he has done in the past; gone is the persona that would make younger fans scream with glee, and in its place we find a serious actor who takes his talent to another plateau with this material. I was amazed at how well Dicaprio was able to pull off this role, and it is easily the best film acting I have ever seen from him; even better than his part as Arnie Grape.

The leads are not alone in their presentation of this great acting, because Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, and Alec Baldwin each have supporting roles that add a lot to the way the film is presented. Wahlberg too departs from his normal onscreen role as Detective Dignam, who works with Sheen as the only two who have knowledge of their undercover operations. A very hard-nosed detective who has obviously seen the dark side of his work, Dignam is very jaded, but in the same instance you see that he is not someone you want to cross. Sheen serves as the supervisor who can be trusted with anything, and it was obvious his character was set up this way so that you could throw suspicion out the window, and leave you knowing what to expect from the part. Sheen and Wahlberg work great together, and even though they seem on paper like the oddest pair to team up together, the good-cop / bad-cop game that they have working works very well. Throw in Alec Baldwin as the head of the Special Forces division within the department and you see the well-rounded cast as a whole. One additional part that I liked was the use of Anthony Anderson as another one of the detectives.

As I have stated, I feel that The Departed works extremely well on many levels. First you have the cop drama within the precinct, and on how they go about their daily business. Then you get to see the mob from the inside, first with Jack Nicholson's character and the power he exudes, and then with all of the "heavies" within his gang. Combining these two sections of the film, the drama is simply intensified, and what ends up happening is a maturation of the story. With many sub-plots and underlying levels of the story, you aren t left thinking one thought when you leave the film, but in my case, I was left with a sense of awe at simply how well some of the scenes and important moments of the film were carried out. I was left holding my breath at moments, and in other instances I was amazed at how well a storyline was carried out. There are moments of violence that are typical for a Scorsese film, and the language is strong in parts, so be warned of that aspect. A film packed with character development, great dialogue, and many additional nuances that make it worth seeing a second time, The Departed is probably the best film I have seen from 2006. Highly recommended, this is a film that should not be missed, and which will probably be best enjoyed in a theater. 5 Stars, all the way.