As Frank Costello says so humorously, "No tickey, no laundry!" To that I say bring all the loads you can muster, 'cause this movie can't fail to wash you to the core.

Rating: 10/10 (22 October 2006)

Martin Scorcese is among the most influential, masterfully-gifted film directors of all time. He's contributed countless movie classics from his under-the-radar classic Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore to his beautifully violent Taxi Driver; his graceful docu-masterpiece The Last Waltz to the unprecedented bio-pic Raging Bull; The King of Comedy, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Color of Money, GoodFellas, his daunting and haunting re-make Cape Fear, Casino, Bringing Out the Dead, Gangs of New York, The Aviator. All of these timeless trend-setting genre spectacles amass to a resume in American cinema outdone only by Hitchcock, Ford and Huston. Despite his triumphs in moving pictures, Scorcese has yet to attain his due recognition as Best Director and none of his Academy Award-nominated films have won the prestigious Oscar for Best Picture of the Year. Well, this year's chances are as good as any for his drought to catch some rain. The Departed, an Americanized adaptation of Japan's hugely successful crime-drama, Infernal Affairs, is already being considered a crime-classic for time to come and is Leonardo DiCaprio's most concrete Oscar-prone vessel to date. Each and every performance is teeth-shatteringly good with strong leads from Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Ray Winstone and eight-time nominee, three-time Academy Award-winner, Jack Nicholson. However, outshined are all of these phenomenal actors; and by one I figured least likely to do the deed. Leonardo DiCaprio truly delves into Billy Costigan's persona, becoming the young lad from South Boston. Along with Costigan, Colin Sullivan (Damon) is leading an excessively dangerous double-life. While Colin is moving up the hierarchy at the city's law enforcement branch, Billy's mischievous past and family reputation keep him from staying on the task force. The careers of these two young gentlemen, and their addressing captains (Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen) each amount to the reign of South Boston's organized-crime leader, Frank Costello (Nicholson). Scorcese's expert knowledge on the industry's does and don'ts, leave The Departed the crafty modern masterpiece that it is, and without any splotches. As Frank Costello says so humorously, "No tickey, no laundry!" To that I say bring all the loads you can muster, 'cause this movie can't fail to wash you to the core.