365+ movies in 365 Days: Day 132 - The Departed

As big a movie buff that I am, I don't get to see every movie I want to. I have a list of "must see" films and my goal in September is to shorten the list considerably. I am embarrassed to say that there are some very notable major films on the list, including five modern day (post 1960) Academy Award winners for Best Picture. The Departed was on that list and now I can cross it off.

I regret not seeing this film in a theatre. The level of tension in the film was palatable and I can only imagine how it felt sitting with hundreds of others, all at the edge of their seats, sometimes forgetting to breathe, as the complex narrative unwound. I had wondered if they gave Scorsese the Best Directing award as sort of a consolation prize for all the years he deserved it and didn't win, but The Departed is a true masterpiece to be listed amongst his other great films, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas and Casino.

On the surface it is a cops and robbers film. The story follows two newly graduated Massachusetts State Troopers, Matt Damon as Colin Sullivan, a man who becomes a cop so he can be an informer to his mentor and crime boss, Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson, and Leonardo DiCaprio as state trooper William "Billy" Costigan, who becomes a cop to escape the criminal life of South Boston and then returns to it as an undercover detective. Costigan is in deep. His identity as a trooper as been expunged and he does jail time to increase his credibility. Only two men in the entire state police department, Captain Oliver Queenan (Martin Sheen) commander of the undercover unit and Sergeant Sean Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) his second in command, know his real identity to prevent him from being burned.

It is only a matter of time before Costigan realizes that Costello has someone in the special investigation unit keeping him informed, and Sullivan realizes Queenan has a cop in Costello's crew. Both men race to find the identity of the other before their own secret is revealed.

That's the plot of the movie, but it is about so much more. The movie handles complex themes of father-son relationships, self identity, catholic guilt, the lust for power and how it corrupts and growing up Irish in South Boston "you're either a cop or a criminal and when you have a gun pointed at your face, what does it matter?". All of these themes are woven into a rich, complex tapestry of moral ambiguity. And all of it is firmly planted in neighborhood and culture of South Boston. There are many American cities that this film could have taken place in, but some how Boston is the city where the story belongs.

The acting in this film is great. Damon is excellent as usual, and while I have not been a big fan of DiCaprio, I thought his work in this film was superb. DiCaprio and Damon must play two roles. The outer man they present to those around them, "the lie"and the inner man, who they really are, "the truth". The fact that the audience can see both men is a tribute to their acting ability. Wahlberg excels as an intense, dedicated cop and his few scenes are very memorable.

The entire cast is excellent with one exception, Jack Nicholson. There comes a point in a celebrity actors career when their own performances become a cliche of themselves. They become a parody of their own identity. This has happened to Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Tom Cruise, to name a few. No matter what role they play certain gestures and expressions make the audience aware they are watching the celebrity and not a character.

Jack Nicholson has always had a few of these mannerisms, and they became even more pronounced after his over-the-top performance as The Joker, in 1989's Batman. In the past twenty years there are only two roles where I enjoyed seeing Nicholson completely submerge himself into a character, A Few Good Men and About Schmidt.

Watching The Departed there were many moments where the character of mobster Frank Costello was replaced with Jack Nicholson playing a mobster named Frank Costello. I had hoped that that Scorsese in directing Nicholson, would be able to contain his performance. Don't get me wrong, Nicholson was good, but this film pulls you in, layer by layer, until you are completely engaged and then Nicholson would say or do something that reminded me of the celebrity, not the character, and I would be taken out of the film for a moment.

The movie is a remake of a Japanese film called Internal Affairs. I have not seen it but it has been added to my list. This is the second time Scorsese has done a remake of another work. The first was Cape Fear. Here he succeeds in taking a Japanese story and turning it into a truly American saga.

At The Movie House rating ****