Movie Pick

Dearly Departed

The Departed (R)

originally published October 11, 2006

Well into his fourth decade of filmmaking, Martin Scorsese’s inspired lifeblood still flows freely, igniting electric cinema when his peers need a jump. The Departed probably won’t earn Scorsese his long-awaited Oscar, but the tough film could whip up on The Gangs of New York and give Goodfellas at least as good a beating as The Departed would take. Adapted from tremendously tense Hong Kong action film Infernal Affairs by William Monahan (Kingdom of Heaven), The Departed straddles the law with the parallel lives of the rising Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) and the sinking Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Both men are parentless cops of similar age with connections to the South Boston neighborhood of mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), who rules the city with blood and bullets. Colin grew up under Frank’s tutelage in South Boston, before scurrying up the police ladder to detective. Of mixed parentage (his mother was a moneyed old Bostonian; his daddy was a respectable Southie), Billy was kicked out of the police academy and spent time in the joint for his violent tendencies. After his release from prison, Billy uses his father’s - and uncle’s - reputation to find work in Frank’s gang, rising quickly through the gangster ranks. Meanwhile, Colin has been assigned to the special division of the Massachusetts State Police tasked with taking down Frank.

At this point Frank, Colin and Billy’s lives diverge. Colin is Frank’s mole in the police department; Billy is the rat in Frank’s organization. Both men know the other exists, but neither knows the other’s identity. An intense game of rat-and-mouse dominates the film, as Colin seeks to out Billy and Billy struggles to maintain his cover. Scorsese captures the freneticism and furtiveness of duplicity with jump cuts, abrupt sound edits, and a constantly shifting camera, thus ensuring the viewer rests as little as Colin and Billy (it’s tiring living two lives). Damon and DiCaprio don’t have much time to rest either, shouldering the weight of hefty comparison. (Unfair as it may be, I can’t help but salivate at the tough guy wet dream of a young Pacino and De Niro starring as Colin and Billy circa 1980.)

In all his kooky finery, Nicholson lords over his minions in a volatile performance for which he’ll undoubtedly receive his 13th Oscar nomination. Costello is dangerous, devoted and insane (check out that crazy rat face if you don’t believe me). His capricious sovereignty sanctions every occurrence in the film. In his third collaboration with the acclaimed filmmaker who directed De Niro to an Oscar for Raging Bull, DiCaprio is cast in the unenviable role of successor to a legend. Yet he and Damon are tremendous. The film may erase the line between good guy and bad, but without star parity, Colin would be one-dimensionally revolting or Billy a cardboard hero. The gifted, handsome acting duo makes it easy to see why police shrink Madolyn (the physical Vera Farmiga, Running Scared) gets caught between vulnerable thug Billy and lying charmer Colin.

At two and a half hours of constant tension, The Departed would be exhausting and uninteresting if Scorsese hadn’t employed a lighter than usual touch. An operatic, coke-fueled threesome and an extremely theatrical chase down an alley flooded with red and blue light out-De Palmas De Palma.

A humorous blast of macho workplace solidarity keeps the film cool and comfortable amidst the heated confrontations. Mark Wahlberg’s foulmouthed staff sergeant berates his fellow officers with loving ferocity, and Alec Baldwin’s sweaty, oblivious blowhard superior cheekily applauds the Patriot Act.

Along with the humor, Monahan inserts moral quandaries and Bostonian attitudes on race, class and homosexuality into the constant stream of exaggerated, bloody action. Dead parents abound, as do patriarchal replacement units. As immoral as Frank is, he takes his role of adopted father to heart, offering Colin unsolicited advice. Colin even calls Frank “Dad” in coded phone conversations (most of which enable Frank to escape incarceration). Disgusted by Frank, Billy looks to his opposite, Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen), a good Catholic whose son goes to Notre Dame. Attributing the different moral codes of its dual protagonists to parenting, The Departed, relentlessly psychoanalyzing itself, favors nurture over nature.

Intelligent and taut, The Departed is Scorsese’s most purely entertaining film. The first shadowy sight of Nicholson, the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” pulsing in the background, shows more breathtaking liveliness than any of the summer’s hits. Lacking the ponderous art of Scorsese’s most acclaimed films and powered by high-wattage stars, The Departed should be a rare box office winner for the much-admired filmmaker (he has only one film, The Aviator, that’s ever grossed over $100 million). A collision of ripened filmmaking, muscular acting from its three stars, and a sharp screenplay, The Departed is the first sign of cinematic life in the desolate wasteland of early fall.

Drew Wheeler