A brilliant, engrossing crime drama

Rating: 10/10 (16 November 2008)

"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me." So starts The Departed, one of this decade's finest movies. The above quote is spoken by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), the ruthless, unpredictable leader of the Irish mob that terrorizes South Boston. He is the most wanted criminal by the Massachusetts State Police, a.k.a. the Staties. A young cop with a shady background named Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) has been recruited by Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Staff Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) to infiltrate Costello's ranks. Little do the police know that Costello has already inserted his own informant, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), into the police department.
Even from the first two lines, the film manages to capture the audience's attention and hold it for over two-and-a-half hours. Armed with one of the wittiest, most unique scripts in years and an amazingly talented, A-list cast, director Martin Scorsese finally returns to what he does best: gritty noir-like films about the merciless, uncompromising world of organized crime. Filled with almost painfully realistic violence and more profanity than I ever thought possible, The Departed portrays the stresses and dangers of undercover life with pitch-perfect realism while managing to retain elements of touching and heartfelt drama. The characters are all well-developed and three-dimensional; even though they have their flaws, viewers come to really care about their triumphs and failures. Especially upon multiple viewings, it is possible to detect a sophistication and intricacy in The Departed that is absent in the majority of crime dramas. This is not a film for the sensitive or casual viewer and the intense plot of loyalty, betrayal and deceit has the complexity of a Shakespearean tragedy. In short, The Departed is a must-see film.