Movie Review: THE DEPARTED Author: Bill Ramey Friday, July 7, 2005, 12:00 PM TEXAS TIME U.S. Release Date: October 6, 2006 Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures Director: Martin Scorsese Writing Credits: Monahan Cast: Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, et al. Genre: Crime Drama MPAA Rating: R OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.thedepartedmovie.com TRAILERS: www.apple.com/trailers © 2006 William E. Ramey. All rights reserved. THE DEPARTED was not what I anticipated. I knew it was a mob movie directed by Martin Scorsese, so I went in with preconceived expectations. This is a gritty crime drama that surprisingly has lots of humor. It is also a somewhat predicable film that is full of twists which makes it, well, unpredictable. I believe the obvious is there to set you up for these twists and unanticipated revelations. It is also a remake of sorts to the 2002 Hong Kong thriller INTERNAL AFFAIRS. THE DEPARTED is also the best film I’ve seen in 2006. Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson in THE DEPARTED (© Warner Bros.) If you haven’t heard about the premise, it’s a great one. You’ve got two recruits at the Massachusetts State Police Academy -- Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) -- whose careers take different paths. Costigan becomes an undercover cop sent to infiltrate the world of mob boss Frank Costello. Sullivan, who spent his youth actually working for Costello, quickly moves up the ranks of the MSP. Sullivan, despite his success at his job, is actually a bad cop -- he’s a mole who provides Costello inside information allowing him to stay one step ahead of his pursuers. At the center of this strange, opposite mole operation are two “father figures,” if you will -- Oliver Queenan (Martin Sheen) is the patriarch of the good guys, while Costello (Jack Nicholson) heads up the thugs. As the story plays out, both of these moles become aware of each other’s existence and the race is on to identify and expose him -- before he does the same in turn. The ensemble cast is fantastic -- top notch performances by all without anyone overshadowing another. There are guys you like and root for, guys you hate and pull against, and some that are a bizarre combination of the two. In my opinion, this was Leonardo DiCaprio’s best work to date. In saying that I must make the admission that I’m not a big fan of DiCaprio -- although I’m far from being a hater. While you know that DiCaprio’s Costigan is actually a cop, you still wonder if his violent outbursts are real or an act. DiCaprio also does a wonderful job portraying a guy so stressed out about his “job,” that he has to suck down Xanex like tictacs. This is the guy you are rooting far throughout this film. While Costigan commits crime after crime for the public good, Matt Damon’s bad cop Sullivan is his mirror opposite. He has the successful job and the good-looking doctor girlfriend as well. He sits in relative comfort, texting his info to Costello via his cell phone, while the stressed-out Costigan’s life is on the line every second of the day. I found myself despising this smug Sullivan clown -- as did the audience -- and wanting him to get his ASAP. As far as Jack Nicholson, he’s been criticized, so to speak, for basically playing different versions of himself onscreen. To that I say you get what you get with Jack and his performance in THE DEPARTED is no different. While he’s still very much “Jack” in this film, there is unstable and uncomfortable craziness about his Frank Costello that’s a bit unsettling to witness onscreen. He’s an insanely brutal and paranoid mob boss with nothing left to lose. The one aspect that I found a bit far-fetched was Vera Farmiga as the police psychiatrist. It wasn’t that I didn’t buy her as a cop shrink -- OK, that was a stretch too -- it was her involvement with both moles that was a bit absurd. With that said, Farmiga plays it straight and allows one to sort of buy in in context to the story. Props also go out to Mark Walhberg in his scene-stealing turn as the righteous, but foul-mouthed MSP Detective Dignan. While he comes off extremely abrasive, he serves an important role in the film. Just wait, you’ll see what I’m talking about. While Jack Nicholson playing an Irish mobster is the star of the film, it is the actually the police and their operation that is the focus of this movie. In a strange sort of way, Scorsese has given us a “gangster film” that really isn’t about the gangsters. It is also his best work in a decade and as I said in the beginning, the best film of 2006. Oh, and the soundtrack is good too! JETT’S GRADE: A Bill Ramey, aka "Jett," is the founder and editor-in-chief of BATMAN ON FILM and ON-FILM.NET.