>>REVIEW
THE DEPARTED
STARRING Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg
DIRECTED BY Martin Scorsese
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Early in The Departed, Leonardo DiCaprio’s misanthropic undercover cop, Billy Costigan, must get the attention of Boston’s Irish kingpin, Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). So, when he finds a pair of Mafioso soldiers harassing a shop owner, he beats them savagely and throws one through a glass display case. There, blood streaming from a pair of the Italian-American stereotypes that director Martin Scorsese has been making his reputation on since Mean Streets, is a perfect snapshot of a film that remains brutal crime fare while still allowing a few knowing winks to its audience.
Adapted from the Hong Kong crime thriller, Internal Affairs (Wu jian dao), The Departed is a stylish, nerve-wracking portrait of two cops on either side of a criminal investigation. Costigan is a hard-headed loner, driven to work undercover on an investigation into Frank Costello’s Mafia activities after being bluntly assured that he can never truly be a police officer. Where Costigan languishes on the outside, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a man designed to infiltrate the police force seamlessly, rising through the ranks to become the perfect inside man for his avuncular patron, Costello himself. With their identities obscured from one another, the two try to survive in a world where the slightest misstep will expose them, even as their humanity screams out for genuine human contact. Both are caged rats trying to escape before the trap finally springs.
The film is riddled with the palpable suspense and brutal violence that makes watching a morality tale more than just a civics lesson. From the routine violence required by organized crime to Costigan’s brutal attack on Sullivan – a rapid triple elbow to the face that left the theatre hooting – the film is packed with crime story grit that fits seamlessly into Scorsese’s already iconic resume.
And yet, without tripping into parody, The Departed still manages to imbue its world with a sense of humour that sustains its sombre or shocking moments. Where the routine violence of Costello’s operations and the growing paranoia of both protagonists might otherwise wear itself thin, the unmasked contempt of Mark Wahlberg’s boorish staff sergeant or Alec Baldwin’s tactless sincerity are able to lighten the film’s tone without fear of diluting what remains a powerful drama.
Stalled only by its jaw-droppingly hyperbolic final 15 minutes, The Departed is a seamless mix of familiar crime story and comic relief that is easily among Scorsese’s best work. Self-consciousness has not dulled the director’s work, only made it better and the creation of fear more palpable. |
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