Making Decisions with a Gun Instead of a Gavel

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 2008)

I am not saying that I think this movie is in the category with other Scorcese greats such as "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver", actually "King of Comedy" is my favorite Scorcese film, however "The Departed" is a relatively remarkable film!! The acting in this movie is simply incredible!! The plethora of acting talent simply overwhelms you!! Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Jack Nicholson, Leonardo Di Caprio, and of course Matt Damon!! I thought Matt Damon's performance was the best acting performance in this movie!! The comment he made which I found to be very interesting was "The Irish are impervious to psycho-analysis".. I went to grade school at an Irish parish, and even though they were affluent, they did seem more visceral than many other ethnic groups are!! Boston is the only city in the country where the Irsih control the syndicate. The Italians are accustomed to ruling organized crime in virtually every other city in the United States. Boston is where the movie "The Departed" takes place.. The F word replaced a lot of semantics in this movie, and the violence seemed to have some kind of tenet of amelioration attached to it!! "The Departed" won for best picture in '2006, as it would appear as though the copious quantity of top notch talent in this film would almost mandate such an accolade!! How were all the problems in this movie solved?...WITH A GUN!! The violence in "The Departed" was almost satirical, as it signified a precarious set of checks and balances!! Everyone's anger seemed to reflect a sordid and justifiable pontification for everything!! Many techniques of agitation and vindictiveness with this movie told the movie audience one thing- This is a Scorcese film!! His style emanates a proverbial belligerence through frustration that he has incorporated in so many of his past movies!! I enjoyed this film, and I can definitely see how it won best picture in '2006. What is the best way of saying "The Departed" is an excellent movie, by saying this: "The Departed" is a really good (F word) picture!!