The Departed (2006)

As always, spoilers below.

Ah The Dahpahted. The film that provided me my only real interaction with Boston. The film that has motivated me to annoy my family with a shitty Bostonian accent since 2006. 

The film follows a rat trying to find another rat somewhere in Jack Nicholson's crime syndicate. It's a wicked convoluted web that the characters weave for themselves but its a great watch. 

Let's get started.

Soundtrack/Score:

I would say that the soundtrack is very interesting but nothing absolutely crazy. Many of the songs included in the film were released in the late sixties and early seventies (with a few exceptions). Scorsese proclaims his undying love for Mick Jagger by using "Gimme Shelter" for the third time in his film making career (other instances being Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995); two films that are similarly depressing). The selection of music fits well with the film because the generally upbeat music contrasts with the generally shitty actions the characters take. It is always fun to me to see scenes where characters commit acts of great violence while happy-ish music plays in the background. The Departed does this very well. One wouldn't exactly expect The Beach Boys to be in a movie where like 99% of the characters are brutally murdered. It is an exceptional pairing however and I think the movie benefits greatly from it.


Everybody was surfin, surfin USA!

Writing/Script:

So I can't exactly give the writing a shining review just because the movie is actually a remake of 2002 Hong Kong produced film Internal Affairs, directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. So the idea isn't completely original.

That's about the only negative thing that I can see about the writing. The entire film feels very fluid and natural. The writers put a lot of thought into the dialogue of this film and I really appreciate that.

I said before that the plot is convoluted but I don't really mean that. The plot is definitely complex but this is just due to the nature of the story. It's about one informer trying to find another informer while informer B simultaneously tries to find informer A. Something else about this movie that puts it ahead of others is that it doesn't have a contrived "happy ending". It has a gritty, nasty ending. An ending that makes you sit and stare at the screen once it's done and think about your life.

The film also says "fuck" a lot. I like the word fuck. I fucking love this movie. 

Fun fact: The Departed uses the word "fuck" 237 times in the 151 minutes of run time. That amounts to twice every three minutes.


Am I writing this review just to avoid doing homework?


How Well It Holds Up:

This is another fairly recent movie so there's not really been a huge jump in technology that makes this film obsolete. Therefore it holds up just fine. Talk to me in twenty years. The special effects are fine.

I have a confession to make. I have never seen anyone get shot in the head. In person. Or anyone shot anywhere, really. That said, many characters in The Departed end up being shot. In the head. And the back. And the knees. And really anywhere and everywhere throughout the course of the film. A lot of people get shot is what I'm trying to get across here. They all look realistic (as far as I can tell) though. I can believe it. Martin Sheen also takes a dive off of the roof of a building.

Scorsese missed a golden opportunity to plug Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" here.

There is one scene in the movie where Matt Damon needs to text a group of criminals that they are being monitored by their cell phone signals. This entire plot point relies on Damon texting his associate while his phone is in his pockets, feeling out his words using the physical keyboard on his flip phone. If this movie was filmed last year instead of 2006, Matt Damon would have texted "bocroophibes" rather than "no cellphones" (because that's what my phone ended up with when I tried texting blind).

Acting:

The cast of this film is packed with A-list actors. Jack Nicholson portrays his usual character of "bat-shit crazy old man" except this time his billing is 'Frank Costello'. Nicholson reportedly improvised a lot of scenes, like pulling a gun on DiCaprio, or pulling a dildo on Damon. Oh Jack *cue laugh track*. 

But more seriously, Jack Nicholson's character Frank is one of the most terrifying roles he's had in his career in my opinion. He plays a believable and well fleshed out crime boss turned FBI informant. And to be frank (sorry), Nicholson's improvisation added a lot to the film. While watching The Departed, many of the scenes that include Frank can make viewers uncomfortable because he's so fucking creepy. 

Marky Mark is on the right side of the law for once in his life. DiCaprio and Damon both play one side of the same coin. While DiCaprio tries to stay morally in the right while surrounding himself with murderers and crooks and trying to maintain his sanity in the process; Damon tries to preserve his relationship with Vera Farmiga's character 'Madolyn' and his career with the police force but at the same time retain his ties with Frank Costello and the underworld.



Maybe this year, Leo.  Edit Feb. 28th, 2016 -- This year indeed, Leo.

What Issues It Tackles:

Infidelity, honor, greed, morality, the value of life and death; all of these are covered in The Departed. The film really does give a look at how violent and self-centered man can be which isn't something many people like to admit to themselves exists. I've said it already but I'll say it again, this is a gritty movie that makes you think about the nature of man. And for that reason I love it. 

My rating: A hard 8.5. ;)

--Mat


Actual paparazzi footage of Jack Nicholson circa 2011.