Remakes are all too commonplace in today's Hollywood, but leave it to gangster film auteur Martin Scorsese to make one that actually beats the original. Based on the Hong Kong police drama Infernal Affairs, Scorsese's The Departed is an intense thriller reminiscent of the melancholy sweetness of Taxi Driver.
Set in Boston, The Departed follows a perfectly cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan, an undercover state police officer bent on bringing down professional crime boss and amateur nutcase Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) from within his ranks. Simultaneously, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), an experienced but young criminal under Costello's tutelage, infiltrates the state police as Costello's mole.
It's a race between Costigan and Sullivan to see who can discover the other's identity first, as Costello slowly takes over Boston and state police Captain Oliver Queenan (Martin Sheen) moves to put him away for good.
To further complicate matters, although Costigan and Sullivan spend most of the movie chasing each other in circles they unknowingly connect through Madolyn-Sullivan's fiance and Costigan's psychologist.
Convoluted plot aside, The Departed is a gem amongst the rubbish of this fall's movie selections. The movie is frenzied and quickly paced, albeit with a few dragging lapses. Scorsese is one of the few directors in Hollywood who goes beyond just telling a story and-like the directors of yesteryear-meticulously crafts his mise en scéne through lighting, visual motifs and imagery.
Scorsese manages to seamlessly switch from his much beloved New York Italian mafioso lingo for the wicked awesome vernacular of Boston's Irish Southies. This Beantown braggadocio lends itself to some surprising laugh-out-loud hilarity via brilliant performances from Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin as state police officers.
Nicholson channels the detached insanity of his role as the Joker in portraying Costello and thoroughly deserves a supporting actor Oscar nod. In fact, given the lackluster competition, it won't be surprising if The Departed receives several nominations come award season. Who's smelling a first win for perennial punching bag Scorsese?
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