Awesome Remake

Rating: 9/10 (22 October 2006)

Martin Scorsese! The greatest director never to win an Oscar? Or overrated, homophobic trash-monger? You hear a lot of things thrown about concerning the mono-browed director. But whatever is said about him, he's delivered something special with The Departed.
Essentially an 'adaptation' - I'm tentative to use 'remake', for reasons discussed later - of a hugely successful Hong Kong cop thriller, Infernal Affairs. The action takes place in Boston, USA, and follows two men - Leo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan and Matt Damon as Colin Sullivan - from opposite sides of the law. Costigan is a cop (of sorts) who goes into deep cover in the Boston Irish Mafia; Sullivan is a mafia plant within the Police Force itself. And basically, they're assigned to find out each-other's identities.
What follows is a fantastically tense movie; masterfully directed by Scorsese in such a visceral and epic manner that you just get caught up in it all. Honestly, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen - despite it being just over two-and-a-half hours long! It's truly an achievement that Scorsese is able to hold a movie-goer's attention for such time; all the characters are compelling, the plot twists and turns, and goes through a fantastic series of close calls before reaching it's more than a little bit iconic showdown.
Another surprise is the quality of the performances; in particular, that of the two central leads. DiCaprio simmers brilliantly as the troubled police mole Costigan - whose position means he has absolutely no idea who to trust, and DiCaprio capitalises on this fact by infusing Costigan with an incredible sense of desperation, both to retain his own identity and to find out Sullivan's. Damon (a few odd accent moments aside) is in parts evil little **** and enigmatic young detective; balancing the two aspects of his character brilliantly. Jack Nicholson devours scenery as the ridiculously - occasionally hilariously - malicious Frank Costello, juggling the more humorous parts of the character perfectly with a mean streak a mile wide, and relative newcomer Vera Farmiga brings a touch of sass to the ensemble, with her sensuous police psychiatrist Madolyn becoming romantically involved with both protagonists.
But the true star of the show is Mark Wahlberg - which is a shock to say the least. He's only got a supporting role, but he grabs it with both hands and wrings it for all he's worth. He's on screen with such quality actors as Nicholson, Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin, and his brash, foul-mouthed portrayal of Dectective Dignam - one of Costigan's handlers - drags your eye straight to him. That and he gets some of the best lines in the film - 'Maybe...maybe not. Maybe **** yourself!' being one of my favoured examples (you'll get it if you watch it).
Now, 'remake'. I said I didn't like using that term to describe this particular film, instead preferring 'adaptation'. This is because, whilst it does share major plot-points with Infernal Affairs, it is vastly different in it's handling. Infernal Affairs is a ridiculously serious, slow-paced cop thriller, whereas The Departed - whilst not exactly light-hearted - is a lot less serious, and there are actual some genuinely funny - occasionally in a bizarre, slightly twisted way - moments. It's also a lot faster in pace - despite the 150-minute running time - and all these things means it views as almost a completely different film.
Basically, this is a damn fine film. It's in parts nerve-wrackingly tense, thrillingly exciting and funny in the kind of way that you know you really shouldn't be laughing, and it all comes together beautifully. I honestly couldn't recommend this film more, both to fans of Infernal Affairs, and to newcomers to the series.It's by no means ground-breaking, nor highly original, but it is an entertaining piece of film-making that you should definitely check out if you can!