The Departed : A Sure Arrival of Martin Scorsese.

Rating: 10/10 (7 October 2006)

Martin Scorcese's new film, The Departed, a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong hit Internal Affairs, takes the action from the streets of China and moves it to Boston. Although it was changed to an American film, The Departed still focuses on the same conflict between the state police and the local mob, in this case overseen by the old-school, charismatic, Irish mobster Frank Costello played by the delightfully maleficent Jack Nicholson. Double crossing and infiltration have been a classic setup within most of Hong Kongs gangster films, and this is no exception. Starting with the City on Fire remake Reservoir Dogs, America has been doing an excellent job of remaking, whilst simultaneously manipulating, and thickening these thrillers.
The Departed, involves two cops, both working for the Massachusetts State Department, and working both sides of the law for Costello. The problem is the two know nothing of each others involvement within the crime syndicate itself. William Costigan (DiCaprio) and Colin Sullivan (Damon) never actually cross paths until the end, and this evolves into a breathtaking plunge into the much anticipated climax of the film. And let us not forget the brilliant role of Mark Wahlberg, the always disgruntled, crudely blunt cop working with Queenen (Martin Sheen) in charge of the undercover unit. This team intelligently offsets itself, from the exaggerated bad cop role to the less intimidating, but sensible good cop.
Honestly one of Scorseses' best pictures since Goodfellas, The Departed is terribly engrossing with its double-crossing, not having a single scene robbed of suspense. The stellar cast brings together some of the best cops and robbers imagery we've seen since Narc, never having dull performances, or stealing the believability of the characters. Cutting between the lives of two "rats", living on the opposite end of the spectrum, Scorsese truly captures the fear and anxiety of the two characters, which is unequivocally unfathomable. I commend this film, in not only bringing originality in its dialog from a remake, but for its re-birth of the genre. There is nobody perfect enough to bring the life back into crime films, as the person who perfected it, Martin Scorsese. If there ever was a Kill Bill for the Scorsese fans, The Departed would be it, with a gun splattered stain around every corner.