The Best Film of 2006

Rating: 10/10 (23 February 2007)

"You accuse me once, I put up with it. You accuse me twice... I quit. You pressure me to fear for my life and I will put a f*cking bullet in your head as if you were anybody else. Okay?" - Billy Costigan
Walking into 'The Departed' the latest Scorsese picture I didn't know what to expect. The way it used to be, back in the 70s and 80s, was when Scorsese released a film you knew it was going to be spectacular and a contender for 'Best Picture'. Now, unfortunately, you cannot say the same thing. Besides blessing us with some of the Best American Films Ever Made (Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, GoodFellas), in his recent years some of his other films have been more than a little disappointing (Kundun, Bringing out the Dead, Age of Innocence, The Aviator). I wanted to think positive, and think maybe this could be on par with Scorsese's early efforts. Despite the talent of Jack Nicholson of the bad guy, I was pretty sure it was going to be good, but the same old disappointing stuff we got from him in recent years. But, when those ending credits started to roll, I realized, I could NOT have been more wrong. Believe most of the critics and myself when we say 'The Departed' is not just excellent, but a masterpiece, and one of the best films Scorsese has EVER made.
'The Departed' is based on the superb 2003 Hong Kong thriller 'Infernal Affairs'. Remakes usually are inferior to their originals, but in this case, 'The Departed' is 10 times better than 'Infernal Affairs', featuring acting and direction that is literally 20 times better. Instead of Hong Kong, the story of the remake is set in Beantown, or Boston. An up and coming rookie cop with a criminal family history, Costigan (DiCaprio), is commissioned by his superior officers Captain Queenan (Sheen) and Sergeant Dignam (Wahlberg) to go on a secret undercover mission and infiltrate the crew of the charismatic yet incredibly violent crime boss, Frank Costello (Nicholson). At the same time, a street hood practically raised by Costello, Sullivan (Damon), is commissioned by Costello to go undercover and infiltrate in the Boston Police Department. The film quickly becomes a thrilling cat and mouse game of wits between Costigan and Sullivan, to see which of the two will come out victorious. Scorsese's riveting Boston crime drama also stars The War Zone's Ray Winstone as Costello's equally twisted #1 man, Mr. French, The Manchurian Candidate's Vera Farminga as a psychiatrist working for the Boston P.D., who forms a relationship with Colin, and Alec Baldwin as the sarcastic, easily-irritated, but constantly fun to watch police Lieutenant who tells Colin one of the benefits of getting married is that the other cops won't think you're a 'homo'.
Analyzing the different aspects of this film, there is really nothing to complain about, but so much to praise. First off, the acting is perhaps the best out of any motion picture released this year. Jack Nicholson is absolutely outstanding not to mention bone-chilling in his supporting role as Frank Costello, creating what is his best 'bad-guy' yet. It will be virtually impossible for Nicholson to be denied an Oscar nomination for his work in this, seeing as though whenever he's on-screen he steals the film, even if he doesn't have lines. Matt Damon is magnificent in his role as the calculating gangster posing as Bostod P.D., but the real breakthrough and the finest performance of 'The Departed' is Leonardo DiCaprio. In a tour-de-force performance that gave me goose bumps, DiCaprio completely makes up for some of his lack-luster performances in the past and then some. I predict DiCaprio might receive another Best Lead Actor Oscar Nomination for his work in this, God knows he deserves it 100%. In smaller roles, Mark Wahlberg is hysterical and scene-stealing as the demeaning police Sergeant who always has some smart-ass nasty comment to say to someone. Martin Sheen is solid to say the least as the Police Captain, Alec Baldwin is quite humorous in a tiny role as the Lieutenant, and Vera Farminga is fantastic in her role as the precinct shrink. Rounding out the cast, Ray Winstone is perfect as one man no one wants to screw with, Mr. French, and The Shield's Anthony Andersen is merit-able in an almost unnoticeable role as another cop who works with Sullivan.
William Moynihan provides a masterful screenplay which redeems him for the scattered and stilted screenplay he provided for 'Kingdom of Heaven'. The dialog in 'The Departed' never seems stiff, and most of the time it is laced with side-split-tingly funny yet gritty one-liners from both the criminals and the cops. The cinematography and film editing are astounding, but the real secret to the success of 'The Departed' is Martin Scorsese's breathtaking directing abilities. Scorsese outdoes himself with 'The Departed' which is as stylish as 'Raging Bull' and as entertaining and engrossing as 'GoodFellas'. Scorsese has been nominated seven Academy Awards for 'Best Director' and has never actually won, but mark my words, 'The Departed' is probably going to be the film he finally gets the trophy for. Not just because he's overdue, but because his surprisingly exceptional work in 'The Departed' is more than deserving.
Out of all these nearly perfect aspects of the film, the only down-side is that the first fifteen minutes of the film aren't very gripping. No worries, though, the rest of the two hours and fifteen minutes fly by and will have you pinned to your seat. It's one of those films you don't want to end because you are having such a fun time in the movie theater. 'The Departed' is the best film of the year, thus far, and is a reminder of why we as a people go to the movies. Grade: A (screened at AMC Deer Valley 30, Phoenix, AZ, 10/07/06)