All this and treachery too...gangsterism on a grand scale...

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2006)

Just as THE GANGS OF NEW YORK created a stir of Oscar talk, this time it looks like a sure bet that LEONARDO DiCAPRIO, JACK NICHOLSON and MARK WAHLBERG will at least be nominated for Oscars in whatever category (lead or support) the Academy decides. I didn't think MATT DAMON's performance was on the same level as the others, but there were also some fine supporting jobs by MARTIN SHEEN, ALEC BALDWIN and others in the large cast.
A story of the Irish Mafia vs. the Boston police force, it teems with violent episodes and each scene has a tense undercurrent where you know some kind of volatile payoff is about to happen. You can almost choke on the intensity in some of the vivid scenes between Nicholson and DiCaprio as they eyeball each other, exploring what's going on in the other's mind as they play out their dangerous cat-and-mouse assignments. DiCaprio is a mole assigned by Sheen and Wahlberg to do undercover work for the cops. Damon is Nicholson's top man, assigned to find out who the mole is.
All of the intensity is fully charged from the opening scenes with Nicholson visiting the local deli and lending his menacing presence to even the simplest scene. Every bit of suspense possible is wrung from a very effective screenplay that includes treachery and murder on a grand scale.
By the time we arrive at the point where Damon finds out who the mole is, the suspense is tripled and there's a final orgy of a shootout that brings the film to a bloody climax. Definitely not a film for the queasy or faint of heart.
A huskier looking LEONARDO DiCAPRIO proves he has much more than boyish charm and good looks. He's matured as an actor and delivers a tremendously moving performance, holding his own against such heavyweights as JACK NICHOLSON and MARTIN SHEEN.
Summing up: A masterpiece of its kind, thoroughly absorbing all the way through, destined to reap plenty of Oscar nominations and--who knows--maybe even a win or two. Absolutely ranks among the top American gangster films.