The Departed
"Who am I? I'm the guy that does his f*ckin' job! You must be the other guy!"
2006. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Screenplay by William Monahan based on a screenplay by Siu Fai Mak and Felix Chong. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, and Alec Baldwin.
"Scorsese has ceased fighting the personal demons that haunted Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. Now he's here to demonstrate the sheer infectious pleasure of making cinema, a glorious symphony of motion in the key of violence." -Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
I'm always excited to see my cousin Christopher and his visit over Thanksgiving weekend gave me a much needed chance to see and talk about some movies. We made one trip to the theatre with my step father joining us for Scorsese's latest. My expectations were high. Scorsese resides, in my opinion, as film's greatest director: past or present. And the word on the film was very strong, with many talking about a return to greatness for Scorsese. My friend Thomas, whose opinions on films I highly regard, stated he thought it might be Scorsese's best film since Raging Bull (I think that was the film he chose). I came out highly satisfied with the film, yet not willing to agree to either assessment. Scorsese hasn't hit the unbelievable highs of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, or Goodfellas since the last of those three films, yet he continues to do terrific work. The Departed also doesn't take its place among those films but it, like The Aviator in 2004 and Gangs of New York in 2002, will certainly sit among the best films of its year.
The story focuses on two parallel figures: Billy Costigan, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and Colin Sullivan, played by Matt Damon, who end up taking opposite paths. We see both training to join Boston's finest. Sullivan is given the blessing for quick advancement and moves quickly up the ladder while Costigan is deemed too uncontrollable for regular duty and is assigned to undercover work. The figure that ties them together is Frank Costello, head of crime in Boston's underworld. Sullivan was taken under Costello's wing as a child and his intentions as a cop are to be the eyes and ears of the underworld. Costigan's undercover work leads him to become a member of Costello's gang. The two men, whose very lives depend on their deception, aren't even aware of each other's identity until late in the film.
Scorsese keeps the pace extremely fast and never loses our interest despite the many complications of the difficult but fascinating plot. The acting is superb, with Jack Nicholson excelling as Costello and Mark Wahlberg a treat as a very un-PC detective. Perhaps I'm getting too old (or perhaps it was having my step-father sitting beside me), but I actually found there to be a little too much violence and language in the film. I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending either. Overall though, The Departed is exciting and captivating filmmaking.
My grade: A
1/19/07: I saw The Departed again, with Kelly this time, at the dollar theatre in Canton. I was even more amazed and fascinated this time. I no longer had trouble with the liberal amount of violence or language - so I feel comfortable attributing that note to sitting beside my step dad in the inital viewing, who I knew was uncomfortable with the level of violence and language. I also found the ending more satisfying than before. It is a terrific film. I've bumped my grade up from an A- to the A it truely deserves.
2006. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Screenplay by William Monahan based on a screenplay by Siu Fai Mak and Felix Chong. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, and Alec Baldwin.
"Scorsese has ceased fighting the personal demons that haunted Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. Now he's here to demonstrate the sheer infectious pleasure of making cinema, a glorious symphony of motion in the key of violence." -Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
I'm always excited to see my cousin Christopher and his visit over Thanksgiving weekend gave me a much needed chance to see and talk about some movies. We made one trip to the theatre with my step father joining us for Scorsese's latest. My expectations were high. Scorsese resides, in my opinion, as film's greatest director: past or present. And the word on the film was very strong, with many talking about a return to greatness for Scorsese. My friend Thomas, whose opinions on films I highly regard, stated he thought it might be Scorsese's best film since Raging Bull (I think that was the film he chose). I came out highly satisfied with the film, yet not willing to agree to either assessment. Scorsese hasn't hit the unbelievable highs of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, or Goodfellas since the last of those three films, yet he continues to do terrific work. The Departed also doesn't take its place among those films but it, like The Aviator in 2004 and Gangs of New York in 2002, will certainly sit among the best films of its year.
The story focuses on two parallel figures: Billy Costigan, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and Colin Sullivan, played by Matt Damon, who end up taking opposite paths. We see both training to join Boston's finest. Sullivan is given the blessing for quick advancement and moves quickly up the ladder while Costigan is deemed too uncontrollable for regular duty and is assigned to undercover work. The figure that ties them together is Frank Costello, head of crime in Boston's underworld. Sullivan was taken under Costello's wing as a child and his intentions as a cop are to be the eyes and ears of the underworld. Costigan's undercover work leads him to become a member of Costello's gang. The two men, whose very lives depend on their deception, aren't even aware of each other's identity until late in the film.
Scorsese keeps the pace extremely fast and never loses our interest despite the many complications of the difficult but fascinating plot. The acting is superb, with Jack Nicholson excelling as Costello and Mark Wahlberg a treat as a very un-PC detective. Perhaps I'm getting too old (or perhaps it was having my step-father sitting beside me), but I actually found there to be a little too much violence and language in the film. I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending either. Overall though, The Departed is exciting and captivating filmmaking.
My grade: A
1/19/07: I saw The Departed again, with Kelly this time, at the dollar theatre in Canton. I was even more amazed and fascinated this time. I no longer had trouble with the liberal amount of violence or language - so I feel comfortable attributing that note to sitting beside my step dad in the inital viewing, who I knew was uncomfortable with the level of violence and language. I also found the ending more satisfying than before. It is a terrific film. I've bumped my grade up from an A- to the A it truely deserves.
posted by Keith Allison at 6:14 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home