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Capone Greets THE DEPARTED!!
Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here. You may have noticed, but I don’t tend to work blue in my writing. There are family members who read my reviews, and they don’t much care for the four-letter words. That doesn’t mean I don’t throw in the occasional curse word every so often, but if you look at my body of work, I usually only get dirty when I hate a movie so much, it makes me mad enough to do so. This is not the case with the latest Martin Scorsese masterwork The Departed. Oh no. Holy motherfucking shit, this movie rocks 18 different sizes and shapes of balls. Balls were rocked so hard, in fact, I think certain areas of the taint may have been injured. I walked out of this movie stumbling from exhaustion and with an awesome sense of uncertainty. How was I going to do this film justice in a review? Maybe I just did.
To say that Scorsese has returned to form is something of an insult to the man’s between-gangster-films accomplishments. Returning to the world of organized crime is nothing new; he’s reinvented the crime drama several times over with films like Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino, and even Gangs of NewYork. But The Departed is more of a culmination (although by no means a finale) of the career of the greatest American director still alive and working today. People have been cautiously optimistic at Scorsese’s return to the world of gangsters, and I’m here to tell you that you can officially lose any doubt. In a year when so many highly anticipated films have been either complete letdowns or not as good as they should be, The Departed is a film that is damn near flawless and actually exceeds expectations. If you read my preview of the Chicago International Film Festival, you’ll see that a couple more damn near perfect films are on the horizon (Oscar baiting season has officially begun, after all), but this film is an earthquake in your soul.
It helps that Scorsese has assembled the greatest cast of the year. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Billy Costigan a low-level Massachusetts State cop with no family and little to lose, who is elevated to become an undercover agent in Boston’s Irish mob, led by one of the most evil creatures ever to occupy a movie screen, Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Only his superiors, played by Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg (one of the few Boston-area natives actually in the main cast), know Costigan's. The other major player in the film’s massive cat-and-mouse game is Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon, also a Boston son), who works as part of the Special Investigation Unit in the department, whose job is to take down Costello with help from the inside man. The only problem is Sullivan was practically raised by Costello and works as a high-ranking mole inside the department. Neither Costigan nor Sullivan know who the other person is, but they become aware of the other’s existence eventually. The name of the game for everyone in this film is self-preservation, no matter what the cost.
It’s an elaborate and sometimes overwhelming plot, but Scorsese and screenwriter William Monahan (Kingdom of Heaven) devote a lot of time and effort keeping everything clear and sensible. They also keep things bloody, tense, and moving at lightning speed. Some of you may know that The Departed’s screenplay is based (rather faithfully, at times) on the Hong Kong epic Infernal Affairs, which spawned two sequels and a sizeable following on this side of the Pacific. And the material is so strong and so clearly inspired by American crime dramas, that it was only natural someone to remake it. But for Scorsese to be so successful with such a winding and crazed plot…well, I don’t know why I’m so surprised he pulled it off.
The crimes that Costello and his crew are pulling off (involving everything from drug deal to selling hi-tech equipment to the Chinese government) hardly matter to the success of the film. DiCaprio and Damon are tougher and more intense than I’ve ever seen them before, and while Costigan acts on instinct and emotion, Sullivan is more calculating and clever. He sees every angle and every possible way he could get caught before he makes a move. Damon allows us to see the wheels turning in Sullivan’s eyes, and it makes us fear him more because he’s so cunning.
Rounding out the stellar cast are the likes of Kevin Corrigan, Alec Baldwin, Anthony Anderson, Ray Winstone, and Vera Farmiga (Running Scared) as a psychiatrist who gets involved, unknowingly, with both men (perhaps the film’s hardest-to-believe plot point). Some of these great actors are in fairly small roles, but nobody gets left behind, and everyone just chews up scenery like it’s made of candy.
As the two leads get deeper into their roles and their secrets are on the brink of getting blown, they get more and more desperate, careless, and paranoid. Everything is so good about this film that it would be a shame to single out a particular performance come awards season (although Nicholson would be the obvious front-runner). This has to be the film that earns Scorsese his Oscar. This is arguably his finest work since Goodfellas, and I can’t imagine any other movie in the roster of 2006 releases bouncing me off the walls like The Departed. Time to revise those Best Of lists again; I’m sure it won’t be the last time in the next three months.
Capone
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I'm a dick.
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OH YES BITCHES.
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You sound like a third-grader who knows all the words but doesn't know how they're supposed to go together. Did you consult an English-to-Swear Word dictionary when you were writing this?
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my initial grumbling is dying down, although i did love infernal affairs . . yet i'll give the great scorsese a chance this time, out of hope. i pray for the best. what a cast!
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...about how it's better to read a foreign film than to enjoy a balls-to-the-wall Scorcese gangster flick that loosely adapts the story. 3...2...
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Oct 04, 2006 12:15:46 PM CDT
Its gonna be a Gangsta and a Bloodfest weekend, baby!!
by sydbarretsmydad
I cannot WAIT!!! After week upon week of mediocre at best movies coming out, I got The Departed AND Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning in one weekend!!!! BLOOD AND VIOLENCE, BABY!!! Might even sneak in a little Jessica Simpson action with Employee of the Month.
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We've seen him play this type of character so many times. I'd be more excited if some of the casting wasn't so obvious. I also love people justifying Marky Mark's presence by saying, "he is actually from Boston". Good for that twat, I still can't stand watching him in movies. That being said I hope this is as good as it's hyped up to be.
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...the original was not that good. Decent but not amazing.
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Those taint injuries are a bitch. The rehab is long and painful.
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Yes, he is!
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This movie rocks all kinds of balls and confirmed 3 things to me:
1. Leo is (and despite all the Titanic haters has been for some time) the best young actor working. His turn in this film will catch a lot of people off guard. I overheard one viewer after the film last night saying that Leo really showed him something in this movie. I couldn't put it any better.
2. Matt Damon isn't that far behind. Matt has really impressed me ever since his turn(s) as Jason Bourne. To paraphrase the 40YOV: Who knew Matt could rock the shit so hard.
3. Alec Baldwin is the most underappreciated actor of his generation. He is an absolute genius in this film and has several lines that will become instant quotable classics. His delivery in almost every scene is spot on. In one scene near the end he literally steals the show with dialogue that would normally be discarded by a lesser director. -
Any movie with Jessica Alba and Angelina Jolie making sweet sweet lesbo love would be well worth the $10 for the ticket. As happy as I am to see Marty directing crime movies again, I've gotta says, Marty, direct THAT freaking movie and I'll respect you more than ever before! Gonna go whack to that thought now! :)
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They should have remade it shot for shot with the original actors in Cantonese.
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This movie looks pretty good, I;ll see it. But after renting Raging Bull the other week, I have to say I think that movie is incredibly over rated. And I fucking HATE the main character in that movie. I dont give a shit, he has no redeeming moral values, he's just a selfish fucking asshole. Fuck Raging Bull, cunts.
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Why don't you just post "I'm a giant frickin' idiot who knows nothing about filmmaking". And yes, you can still call us cunts at the end. You know, if that's your thing.
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"Did you fuck my wife?"
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I'm just no interested in this film. I have an inklin' it's the cast.
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It appears as if I can't.
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The beauty of Old Boy is that he started out as this meek, mild-mannered father. So people like Charles Bronson and Nick Nolte are wrong. It should be, say, William H Macy. Come on, I can totally picture him in a hammer fight.
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Scorsese's great, no doubt, but what about Spielberg? For better or worse he's defined American cinema for the last 30 years and been far more successful at it than Scorsese. (I know, the old "art vs. commerce" argument again) All I know is that I love nearly all of Spielberg's films, even the "bad" ones, but the only films that I'll constantly view of Scorsese's are Goodfellas and Raging Bull. (Two of the greatest films, American or otherwise ever made) What was my point again?
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should never be mentioned in the same sentance again. HOW DARE YOU!!!!!
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That should go on the DVD box.
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Spielberg destroyed American cinema! He more than anyone else is responsible for the domination of the cliche ridden blockbusters. His best films lack the depth of Scorsese's misfires.
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I'll take Jurassic Park, Indy, and Jaws over the average movie any day. And why does it have to be Spielberg or Scorsese, either / or? If we have to set up a competition, why not make it easy by throwing Uwe Boll into the mix?
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that is the only way to decribe the departed. Check out my review @ www.moviepulse.net
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I'm so ready for this film, and I'm so happy for Marty. Leo looks fantastic, and I'm psyched that Mark is in a film of this quality, but I'm most happy that everyone is stellar and Marty's got his shot. Here we go!! -- M A R T Y!! :)
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is pretty stupid. Besides, I always liked the counter-argument: the fact that blockbusters make so much money means studios can spend a little extra on arthouse fare.
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In Bollywood. And it sucks. Incredibley. It's...magically bad. If it was remade properly they should cast Russell Crowe.
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I thought they already cast Nic Cage, thus cancelling out any chance of it being decent. Anyone here about the Bangkok Dangerous remake starring Castor Troy himself? How does he get work?
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just so you know.
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Who knew my one line about masturbating would incite fifty motherfuckers to comment over the course of the day? Sheesh! Sorry, lebron. And by the way, I *liked* the Bollywood "Old Boy" remake (save for the shitty halfassed ending)! It was actually more violent than the original. Also, to whoever said Raging Bull sucks -- YOU SUCK. Nuff said.
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I forgot to mention Taxi Driver as one of my favorite Scorsese picks. And BTW, I don't necessarily follow with my own argument about art and commerce; some of my favorite films never made a dime at the box office. (See two of my favorite living American directors, David Lynch and Terry Gilliam) I hope The Departed is a return to form for Scorsese and I'm definitely gonna see it opening weekend. (And I saw Infernal Affairs, so he has a LOT to do in surpassing that film...)
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But he certainly didn't add anything stylistically--his achievment is that he refined the studio-anonymous style of Curtiz and others to a machine-like smoothness. (I know that reads like a dig but it's really not.) One can't really point to a Spielberg "style" without pointing to all the others who did the exact same thing, often in inferior movies. Other than using diffused light to represent the supernatural, what is a Spielberg style? He refined the studio style to the point where it's been perfected. I'm not a hater, but I think an objective viewer has to admit that fifty years from now his stuff will be considered "workmanlike," while cinemaphiles will be enjoying Scorsese, Hitchcock, Kubrick, etc. for the originality they brought to their work. (And no fan of Hitch's can say his wasn't a commercial style, too, so I'm not against commercial moviemaking--it's my favorite kind.)
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Whoa....better than Casino?
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Some of my favorite movies are remakes, and Hong Kong cinema is FULL of remakes of Western films, so Hollywood remaking a Hong Kong film is nothing if not fair. What pisses me off is remakes that have some of the exact same shots and camera moves, made by directors claiming to have never seen the original. You never saw Marty claiming to have never seen CAPE FEAR. Of course he saw it - but Scorcese's CAPE FEAR and J. Lee Thompson's CAPE FEAR are two very different movies - both very good. THE DEPARTED just looks like Andrew Lau & Alan Mak's INFERNAL AFFAIRS trilogy... "upgraded" with white people. Next up from Scorcese - a remake of a 1971 Japanese film. Seriously.
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I still love it, but the stuff with Albert Brooks and Cybill Shephard, and the Jodie Foster scenes aren't holding up that well. They slows the movie down to a crawl, and they come as corny now. The movie is at it's best when it's De Niro by himself. Even when it's just him, with some voice over, and when he finally loses it in the third act. That performance is one of the best ever.
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Not interested in a remake.
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