The Departed

Rating: 10/10 (15 October 2007)

Martin Scorsese's ode to gangsters and cops is profane, brutal, bloody and brilliant. Having seen the film in the theatres, I was more than glad to shell out some more money to buy the film on DVD. So where do I start? The Departed is a film of the ages, a visceral tale of crime and consequences. Of corruption and power. Of loyalty and suspicion. It is through these lines that the characters cross, double cross and collide.
Leonardo DiCaprio has never been better. Having been a fan of his for a long time, I have to say that he has really started to come into his own since hooking up with Scorsese, having scored a number of deep and tragic characters. Thus, in the Departed. He plays a rookie cop by the name of William Costigan who had grown up all around crime. Thus, making him the perfect mole- a mole on the inside of the Mob run by boss Frank Costello ( Jack Nicholson). It is now, Costigan's job to win both Costello's trust and help his detective handlers ( Mark Wahlberg & Martin Sheen) bring Costello down. But it is SIU officer Colin Sullivan ( Matt Damon) who holds everyone's trust.
The film also has a brilliant supporting cast as well, led by the always intense Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, and come on, Alec Baldwin was awesome here. " Patriot Act. Patriot Act. I love it, I love it, I love it." Between Wahlberg and Baldwin lie some of the best quotes of the movie.
One of my favorite scenes from the film was the scene where DiCaprio's character freakin kneecaps this guy, who then reveals that Costello is an FBI informant. The guy then hilariously starts crying. "I thought you were supposed to go into shock! I'm not in shock! It f*cking hurts!" Another scene that I thought was beyond brilliant was the DiCaprio and Damon silent cell phone interaction. There are also several " Holy ....... Did that really just happen moments" as well. I won't spoil them.
My favorite line was probably the one line where Matt Damon referenced being Irish and how we "don't try to fix a mistake, we live and bitch with it...." Searing, can't look away film-making. Bravo, Mr. Scorsese.