If only it had finished well...

Rating: 7/10 (9 December 2006)

On the heels of the annual fall movie lull comes the beginning of Oscar season. And you know what that means: lots of pretentious films that aren't very good! Yay! First in line, from Martin Scorsese, the man who brought us the overrated borefest that is "The Aviator", is "The Departed"...or is it? Plow on, fair reader...
Generally speaking, Martin Scorsese's films all have a similar theme: exploring the complex lives of unlikeable people. His latest is The Departed, which follows two Boston police academy graduates who take drastically disparate paths. The movie is tortuous in every sense of the word. Plot twists are prevalent; people are not always who they seem; and deceit is the rule rather than the exception. Therefore Scorsese is the perfect director for this film, which can be neatly compared to a good piece of rope. (Go with me on this one, okay?) "The Departed" opens with a handful of story tresses that are related but different. Each arc appears to be going the same direction, although the connection isn't immediately evident. But the big picture soon begins to come into focus as the strands are woven together. The noteworthy editing of Thelma Schoonmaker, who has chopped most of Scorsese's work, contributes mightily to this effect. Early on the movie is nearly disorienting, jumping rapidly from story to story at almost random intervals, as quickly as second by second. This fitfulness soon settles into a comfortable equilibrium, in part because one becomes accustomed to it, and in part because the stories braid themselves tighter and tighter.
As the film finds its rhythm, it occasionally soars on the wings of its stellar cast. In their parallel roles, Leonardo DiCaprio continues to mature with his hard-edged part; Matt Damon plays an interesting spin-off of his altar-boy image, and as a local crime boss, Jack Nicholson is...well...Jack Nicholson. Even though the hard-nosed characters are not particularly likable in themselves, Scorsese takes the time to provide glimpses into the quieter parts of their lives, not just the adrenaline-pumping moments. Like the characters or not, this makes them more human, more interesting, and more worthy of sympathy. It also produces the movie's best moments, which are not entirely congruous with the rest of the film.
As a Boston-based crime drama, "Departed" virtually demands comparison to 2003's stellar "Mystic River". Clint Eastwood's film holds a few things high above Scorsese's, namely a soul. Like Kevin Bacon's detective, Vera Farmiga's fresh-faced police psychiatrist brings some semblance of a moral center to the project. But as she is sucked into the vortex of chicanery, she slowly blends into her surroundings like Darwin's peppered moths. Another key difference lies in the closing act. River didn't wrap things up cleanly, but satisfyingly left story arcs somewhat resolved while still open. "Departed", on the other hand, tries too hard to tie a pretty bow on this occasional present to moviegoers, and that is where Scorsese's project disappoints most.
Regardless of how strong a piece of rope appears at its center, the ends are what define much of its value. Likewise with a film, if the final act isn't finished well, the film loses much of its punch, as "Departed" does. Rather than tie off the end or perhaps unbraid the story lines, Departed instead sloppily hacks off the end of the stories that pull the viewer along. The final scenes may seem like an acceptable finish upon initial glance, but a closer inspection reveals not a snip and a solder, but a absurdly quick chop-chop, a slovenly deus ex machina that jarringly diverges from the slow build of the previous two-plus hours. It almost feels like one of those wisely discarded alternate endings on a DVD, like something someone jokingly threw out as an lazy way to conclude matters.
With its frequent outbursts of intense violence and words, hard-living characters, and twisty story lines, "The Departed" is a Scorsese work through and through. At times the director, aided by a loaded cast, provides wildly entertaining moments and scenes. But like a couple of Steven Spielberg's recent movies ("War of the Worlds", "Munich"), the discordant final act prevents this movie from attaining greater heights. Perhaps Departed could have joined the pantheon of mafia-type films ("Godfather I/II", "Goodfellas"), but the late shortcomings prevent it from reaching even the strong second tier ("Untouchables", "Road to Perdition", etc.).
Bottom Line: A slow but steady start, a strong middle third, and a weak last act make "The Departed" recommended only to those interested in seeing it for genre- or Oscar-related reasons. 6 of 10.