The Departed (2006)
It’s disappointing to realize the only Best Director Oscar that Martin Scorsese has won (to date) is for The Departed, especially since it by no means represents the pinnacle of his esteemed career. I’ve tried to like this movie, three times now. I’ve struggled to find some aspect of it that allows me to connect on an emotional level to the outcome of this story. Bottom line: it ain’t gonna happen.
The movie isn’t terrible, it’s just not that interesting. It’s like watching an intricate chess tournament played between people you don’t much like or care about. I admire the skill and talent, and everyone involved does good work, but I’m not rooting for any character to win. They’re all deplorable. Everybody is a crook. Everyone deserves to go down in flames, and most of them do.
Scorsese has spent much of his directorial life focusing on organized crime in major cities. His fascination with the subject isn’t shared by me. I don’t find gangsters to be innately glamorous, compelling, or sympathetic. There’s a reason why Coppola’s The Godfather succeeds on a broader level, and it’s the same reason why The Departed doesn’t. There’s no appealing, semi-relatable character at the core to pull me into this world. No Vito Corleone with a modicum of style who loves his family and lives by his own invented creed where “personal favors” are offered and also expected as payment in return. Instead, we’re given an entire cast of scumbags. We’ve hit rock bottom here. All of them are disgusting and act as if it’s the only way to live or get things done. It’s all “rats” in this movie, both symbolic and even literal in the final shot. If that’s the point, then why should I become invested in what happens to any of them?
The Departed is a remake of the Hong Kong hit Internal Affairs from 2002. This updated version is about two spies or “moles” on opposite sides of the law who tangle with an Irish Mob boss named Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). One is Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), groomed from the age of eight to work for Costello’s crime ring. When he comes of age, Sullivan is sent to the state police academy in Massachusetts and emerges as a new hire in Boston’s Special Investigations Unit, headed by Captain Ellerby (Alec Baldwin). The other spy is Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), selected by Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and his mouthy Staff Sergeant Dignam (Oscar-nominee Mark Wahlberg) to drop out of the academy before graduation and go undercover as a rogue delinquent. After serving time in jail on a phony battery charge, Costigan is accepted into Costello’s inner circle, only to be told there is an undercover officer hiding among them. Both Costigan and Sullivan are then ordered by their bosses to hunt for themselves. They are their own “rats.”
Vera Farmiga plays girlfriend to both Sullivan and Costigan, and there’s an overdose on symmetry here. Two spies spying on each other from opposite sides of the law are assigned to find the spy in their own group—which is actually themselves—while pursuing the same love interest at the same time. And there’s no happy ending waiting around the corner, to put it mildly. I’m impressed with the performers, the pace, and the direction, but little else. Brief, charming moments of dialogue can’t make up for critical or relatable character development, and a resounding lack of compassion for these characters leaves me shrugging off the outcome even when the bullets start to fly. The blood baths aren’t gratuitous unless you consider the whole story to be gratuitous. I guess that’s where I’m at with this movie. I love many Scorsese films, but this isn’t one of them. I suspect enough Academy voters felt he was long overdue for recognition, and on that count I agree. If you like gangster films, you could do worse than this, but you could do a lot better, too.
The Departed
Director | Martin Scorsese |
Primary Cast | Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Corrigan |
Familiar Faces | Leonardo DiCaprio from Titanic, Jack Nicholson from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Terms of Endearment, Martin Sheen from Gandhi |
Firsts | First and only remake of a foreign film to win Best Picture, first and only Oscar (to date) for Martin Scorsese as Best Director, first and only Scorsese film to win Best Picture |
Total Wins | 4 (Picture, Director, Screenplay: Adapted, Editing) |
Total Nominations | 5 (Picture, Director, Supporting Actor: Mark Wahlberg, Screenplay: Adapted, Editing) |
Viewing Format | Blu-ray Disc |
Comments
The Departed (2006) — No Comments
HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>