Issue 147

Film of the Month: The Departed

23rd October 2006

The Departed sees Martin Scorsese, predictably enough, back with a bang, as his tale of corruption, deception and violence is played out by a power house cast in the run down areas of Boston's underbelly.

Matt Damon plays the seemingly whiterthan- white police detective Sullivan, secretly feeding tip offs to gangland boss Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson with a cool sadistic-ness reminiscent of 'The Joker'. Leonardo DiCaprio takes the role of rookie undercover cop Billy Costigan, infiltrating Costello's gang and playing a suspenseful cat-and-mouse game with Sullivan to find each others identity.

As you may expect from the director of GoodFellas and Casino there is plenty of swearing, violence (both physical and mental), drugs and sex to keep even the most slack jawed viewer entertained. But the real beauty of this film is the on screen relationship between Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio, as Billy Costigan attempts to stay calm in the face of Nicholson's twisted smiles and crazy eyes, portraying a man ingrained with an amoral lust for violence. His frightening character adds real substance to DiCaprios' performance as a man, utterly panic driven to deceive and gain the approval of the men he must bring down. Both actors give a superb performance and work well together, working out their dirty seedy roles to a fine art.

If there is a negative to the film, it would be the lacklustre and wooden Matt Damon, (images of his portrayal in Team America come to mind). In defence to him, Damon did as much as character required, and only when placed next to Nicholson and DiCaprio is the blandness of his role highlighted. Other stand out performances include Ray Winstone's Mr French (the accent will be forgiven Ray), one of Costello's key enforcers and Mark Wahlberg in a career defining performance as an angry cop with some of the finest, foulmouthed insults to grace a cinema screen.

Alec Baldwin has a particularly strange role as the head of Damon's department, who varies seamlessly from funny, off the cuff remarks to sheer frustrated anger epitomised by the hilarious beating of a technical surveillance operator.

The Departed is a great film with plenty of action and interest, but with well developed characters who actually feel real. The plot is sound and the acting is great for the most part. Nicholson and DiCaprio do steal the show but there are plenty of other fantastic performances to enjoy. Scorsese has yet another hit on his hands, and dare anyone mention the word 'Oscar'?

A definite must see for all, except people who don't like gangsters, they won't like it at all!

James Doughty