Thursday, October 12, 2006

They would say you could become cops or criminals. What I'm saying is this: When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?

"THE DEPARTED " Review
Frankly dear, i don't give a damn. That line should summarize Martin Scorsese's attitude to oscar's.i would say another masterpiece from Scorsese,simply brillant. Everything is rock solid: Top actors with meaty roles that let them go to the edge without toppling over that edge, a story that keeps upping the tension and emotional ante every few minutes, gliding camera and shadowy lighting, atmospheric sets and tight, rhythmic editing all conspire to take us into a heart of urban darkness of boston.
Movie is set in south boston where massachusetts state police dept is waging an all out war to take doen city's top crme ring and the key is to destroy mob boss Frank Costello(jack nicholson) from inside. Mob boss Frank Costello (Nicholson) hand-picks young Colin Sullivan (Damon) at an early age to mentor then slip into the ranks of the state police. Colin swiftly rises through the ranks to a spot in the Special Investigation Unit, whose main focus is to take down Frank Costello.
Meanwhile, another police rookie, Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), is asked by two powerful men in that unit,Sgt. Dignam (Wahlberg) and his superior Capt. Queenan (Martin Sheen) to live down to his reputation of a street hothead. For credibility's sake, he is very publicly busted out of the state police, does a stint in prison and gets tossed onto the streets, where he can infiltrate the Costello gang. After a recruitment by Frank's right-hand man, Mr. French (Ray Winstone), and a brutal interrogation by Frank himself, he's in.It's only a matter of time before these parallel careers crisscross at a dangerous intersection. In a sequence during an illicit transaction between Frank's gang and Chinese government agents over the sale of military parts, both cops and criminals recognize that a mole exists within their respective camps. Pressure mounts excruciatingly as each mole must find ways to communicate via cell phone during the operation. Then, afterward, each races against time to discover the identity of the other man to save himself.

One other intersection in their lives is psychologist Madolyn (Vera Farmiga), who specializes in both cops and criminals. Colin strikes up a flirtation with her, and before long she moves in with him. Billy, as part of his parole, is forced to see Madolyn professionally. At first he does so reluctantly, then discovers she is his sole lifeline to the normal life he desperately craves. That this highly charged relationship would also turn sexual is more than far-fetched. But Madolyn's dual relationship with these men lets each reveal vulnerabilities he is unable to show elsewhere.


The Departed is a cat and mouse story at its heart. It is a simple story, but one with multiple layers of deception and intrigue. It is a story that becomes much more than the simplicity of the cat catching the mouse before the mouse gets away.The script plays fast and loose with profanity, capturing what it could really be like in the presented situation. There is depth, humor, and deadly seriousness all in equal parts, creating layers with which Martin Scorsese plays.
The ensemble cast is fantastic, with everyone hitting the right notes.
Jack Nicholson is the one you'll be talking about as you leave the th eater. He brings such menacing confidence to his interpretation of Frank Costello that you never question his authority. The performance is so forceful that you can't help wondering where all that monstrous assurance came from.
DiCaprio delivers one of his most mature performances to date as the honest cop forced to sacrifice his principles for the greater good. Damon, meanwhile, skillfully uses his fresh-faced charm to make his two-faced crook even more diabolical, even if we never quite swallow his slavish devotion to Nicholson's flamboyantly evil mobster, but it's Wahlberg who ends up being the scene stealer, with dialogue that sets a new benchmark for the title of Abrasive Police Chief. Alec Baldwin, as the head of Sullivan's unit, chews whatever scenery Wahlberg misses.
In all The departed is brilliant movie and worth a watch.
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