The film Text copyright (c) Filmverdict 2006-present. Any film titles and artwork used are copyright of their respective owners.
"And the Oscar goes to... Martin Scorsese, The Departed!" These magical words spoken from the 2007 Academy Awards by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Francis Ford Coppola are arguably the greatest in the foundation's prestigious history. To use horseracing terminology, the director should have won the esteemed statuette before his sixth nomination for a 'tri(per)fecta' of previous bona fide cinematic classics: Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), and Goodfellas (1990). Unfortunately for the public's fingernails, Oscar darlings such as Kevin Costner, Robert Redford, and even Sylvester Stallone (John G. Avildsen's Rocky was a decent movie in a year Marty's talents were not recognised for Taxi Driver) have stolen the legendary director's thunder. The Departed also fully deserves the award for Best Picture - Marty's actors have frequently popped up for the thespian gongs, but one of his masterpieces has never won the big one. The New Yorker's adaptation of Hong Kong flick Infernal Affairs (2002) is simply a chef d'oeuvre of excellence.
The film takes place in Boston, Massachusetts, where Irish Mob boss Francis "Frank" Costello (a grizzly but always unfailingly charismatic Jack Nicholson) implants Colin Sullivan (a solid Matt Damon with a peculiar accent) as an informant within the Massachusetts State Police. Simultaneously, the police (an absolutely hilarious Marky Mark Wahlberg due to his motor-mouth taboo dialogue, and a valiant Martin Sheen) assign Billy Costigan (an unyielding Leonardo DiCaprio with a strong colloquial dialect, equal to his decent stab at South African in Blood Diamond) to infiltrate Costello's crew. When both sides of the law realize the situation, the two men are dispatched to discover each other's identities, and this is when the action and the tension ventures into overdrive. The cast make this picture into a must-see and they perform as the catalyst to make this whole cleverly interwoven web of intrigue work. With the added attribute of Scorsese's guidance, the premise consequently falls on the favourable side of the thin line between a perplexing character-based mess and a fictional case study full of joy. As if the aforementioned actors aren't enough, Alec Baldwin (Glengarry Glen Ross-esque speeches invite his trademark sweating), Ray Winstone (the ruthless henchman of Costello, Mr French) and Vera Farmiga (superb chemistry with the two leads in her psychiatrist turn) join the exhibition - even the most inconsequential scenes have powerhouse actors delivering top-of-the-game performances.
Stylistically, Thelma Schoonmaker has done yet another sterling editing job, pushing the themes of identity and father-son relationships to the forefront, whilst constantly adding more information to the story through exquisite framing, flashbacks, and suitable music (Van Morrison performing Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" and The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" are highlights in the always appropriate Scorsese soundtrack). Schoonmaker is simply as comfortable as ever - the opening titles do not even emerge for over fifteen minutes, enough time for Scorsese and his long-time cohort to establish the backgrounds of Costigan and Sullivan. Unlike Gangs of New York and The Aviator which had a mysterious piece of their respective jigsaws missing, everything has seemingly come together flawlessly for Marty, as he has swapped his trusty New York for Boston with glorious aplomb.
The extras
Firstly, the Region 1 DVD is labelled as a 'Special Edition' but even though the Region 2 receives the same amount of discs, we don't receive a collector's favourite phrase because the extras slightly differ. On Disc One we simply have the feature, unfortunately with no Scorsese commentary. Disc Two contains some of the maestro's insight though with introductions to nine deleted scenes - what he insists on calling 'additional' scenes. These are all pretty good and none would feel out of place in the finished piece, especially with the eloquence they are sopping with. The "Stranger Than Fiction: The Story of the Boston Mob" featurette is entertaining but plays out like something from the Biography Channel. However, Whitey Bulger's dealings with the FBI are very interesting, and it is easy to see how he was the main influence for William Monahan's screenplay (along with Infernal Affairs), and also why he is #2 on the FBI's Most Wanted List after Osama Bin Laden. "Crossing Criminal Cultures" is a nice detailed account of Scorsese's background and career. Influences such as Scarface (1932) are mentioned, and Marty explains how he references works such as this and other great gangster flicks in his films. For Scorsese scholars this is gold, but TCM's feature-length documentary on the director on the Region 1 set would have been more welcome. A trailer rounds off the good package.
The summary
As Wahlberg's Staff Sergeant Dignam states during one of his glorious rants, "I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy!" Scorsese has certainly fulfilled his occupational assignments here, and then some. It may not be an archetypal masterpiece in the same bracket as some of Marty's greatest works, but just to be mentioned in the same breath as Goodfellas, Mean Streets etc. propels The Departed into the realms of heavenly filmmaking.
