Tuesday, October 10, 2006

The Departed

In South Boston the state police force is waging war on organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate that is run by gangland chief Costello

I like gangster movies. I thought Gangs of New York was a pretty good movie, Goodfellas was great and The Godfather is one of my favorite movies. I was excited to see that Martin Scorsese had made a new gangster movie with such talent as Matt Damon, Leo Dicaprio, Mark Wahlberg and (one of my favorites) Jack Nicholson. I've read elsewhere that this is Scorsese's best movie since Goodfellas and I'm inclined to agree. A movie that is interesting and fast-paced enough to make a 2 and 1/2 hour running time seem more like an hour is always great in my book. Jack Nicholson is brilliant as always as the gang chief Costello, Matt Damon as the dirty cop is perfect as is Leo as the undercover cop. I especially noticed the chemistry between Damon and Dicaprio as being especially believable and immersive.

With the R-rating you'd expect a fair amount of violence and language in a film like this and you'd be correct. Nothing suprising or outstanding for an R-rated gangster movie.

It's nice to have a good choice at the theaters during the traditionally slow month of October. While the previews focus on Nicholson's witty one-liners and such the movie goes much deeper than that right into the politics of survival. The ending was a bit predictable in some ways but many will find that comforting in an age where everyone thinks good ending = twist ending. All in all a very enjoyable gangster movie that is a worthy addition to the resumes of all involved.


4.7 out of 5