synopsis

Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2006)

I suppose I was a little harsh in ranking The Departed a 7 out of 10 but whenever I watch a Martin Scorcese film I expect to see a great movie. I guess that's what happens when he's directed hits such as Goodfellas and Casino. Still, The Departed was an action-packed film that left me shocked (in a good way) as I left the theatre. The plot centers around Colin Sullivan (played by Matt Damon) as a crooked police officer from Boston and Billy Costigan (Leonardo Dicaprio) as an undercover cop posing as a gangster in Frank Costello's (Jack Nicholson) gang. Basically, Costigan is recruited by Officers Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) and Queenan (Martin Sheen) to become a mole within the Frank Costello crime operation. His work as a mole is totally clandestine with only Dignam and Queenan having any knowledge about his mission (to gather evidence to arrest Costello). Subsequently, Costello suspects that there's a spy on his crew and asks Sullivan, using his police power, to find out who the mole is. Unfortunately, for Sullivan, he doesn't have access to the records of undercover police officers and therefore has no knowledge of Costigan. To complicate the matter further, it is suspected that there is a mole within the police department and Sullivan is assigned to investigate such claims. Without giving away too many plot details, the rest of the film centers on Sullivan desperately trying to find the mole on Costello's crew while Costigan does the same for the police department. In general, the film was filled with much of what has made past Scorcese films so good, great acting, a solid plot, and a lot of action/bloodshed. In particular, I thought Matt Damon stole the show with a great (Oscar worthy?) performance as the suave yet cold Colin Sullivan. Also, Mark Walhberg was great in a supporting role as the bellicose Officer Dignam. Overall, I felt this was a great movie but still a tier (albeit a small one) below Scorese classics such as Goodfellas and Casino.