If Shakespeare Wrote A Play About Mafia and Police, This Would Be It.

Rating: 10/10 (12 October 2015)

The Departed is a motion picture phenomenon that was the best movie of the 2000s without the uses of elaborate special effects. It was also the one that put the entire cast back on the map. Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese were doing well with other movies earlier such as Gangs of New York and The Aviator, but The Departed made them rise to the top again. This is one of Scorsese's top 5 films he has ever made.
The Departed follows two parallel stories about two polar opposite young men that are involved with infamous Irish mob boss, Frank Costello (Nicholson). The first character we get to know is Colin Sullivan (Damon) who is taken in by Costello when he was a boy. Sullivan worms his way through Boston's police academy and eventually into the State Police in its Special Intelligence Unit that focuses on organized crime. Damon gives one of his best performances as a slick undercover mobster.
Leonardo DiCaprio gives his best performance since Titanic as Billy Costigan who grew up on the wrong side of town. Knowing of his family ties, Captain Queenan and Sergeant Dignam (Sheen, Wahlberg) recruit him to go deep undercover to infiltrate Costello. Queenan and Dignam are the only people in the world that know Costigan is really a mole. Costigan is rough and brutal, unlike Sullivan who is calm and rational. Both eventually romance with police psychiatrist (Farmiga).
Both infiltrate their respective units which is so awesome. The whole time you wonder: is it harder for a bad to pretend to be good, or a good guy pretending to be bad? Both DiCaprio and Damon's roles sound kind of easy to play, but both characters are too dimensional to be just any thug and pretty boy.
Both men learn that there is a "rat" Costello's crew. The audience knows that both Damon and DiCaprio are rats, but on different sides of the law. The film really heats up as the stars attempt to fish out who the "rat" is while trying to keep their own true identities hidden. The movie is already red hot, but gets kicked into overdrive as one or both "rats" become known to each other.
A I mentioned earlier, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon give astonishing performances. The Departed has a star-studded cast with the likes of Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, and Ray Winstone, all of who give sick performances.Aside from the general acting, the way the characters are developed and the chemistry between them is just uncanny. Sure the movie is foul and violent, but that doesn't diminish anything. In fact, it just adds excitement. Regardless, the movie is purely character- driven to the max. In fact, the parallel stories and the character-driving is at a Shakespearean level. Shakespeare wrote lots of plays with identical plots that eventually come together and are purely character driven. The Departed is no different.
Aside from the character development, chemistry and plot development, The Departed's themes elevate this film to immortal standards and give it the timelessness it has. It is also that last piece of the puzzle that makes is neo-Shakespeare. The themes of identity, right and wrong, loyalty, and family are all undertaken is such serious and original ways. Sullivan is so deep as a cop that he really starts to uphold the law and do right things, while still being loyal to his "father," Frank Costello. Costigan life begins to become a big blur as he loses track of who he really is. He wants to do his job, but he also wants out of a life of crime.
Martin Scorsese adds his own magic and flair that only he can give. It is his best movie he did in the decade that still has yet to be topped.
4/4