An "Un-Informed" Review

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2008)

I don't necessarily consider myself a lucky person, but when it comes to movies I seem to have an ability that a lot of other people lack  the ability to get lost inside the movie world, the characters, the settings, the dialogue, the STORY and just enjoy it. I get scared, laugh, cry, my stomach gets tight, I gasp, I even yell at the characters if I'm at home (people tend to look at you weird if you do that in the theater!), but most of all I get involved.
While other reviews you might read here compare this film to the original, or talk about Scorsese's "style", or discuss plot holes, or dissect this film in other ways, this one is how I felt watching it. Please read the other reviews for that.
As for me, I just got lost in this movie. I felt the desperation of Billy, hiding who he was and living every single day with an overwhelming fear of discovery from people who would kill him in an instant without a single thought or regret. Colin (Matt Damon) was a true psychopathic personality to me, in that he never seemed to have any regret for what he was doing and he never considered the outcome of his actions with regard to others. I felt his feelings for Madolyn (Vera Farmiga) were "an act", another way his disregard of the feelings of others showed itself, i.e., when he takes her box of pictures and puts them away, out of sight, in essence denying her a past.
I found myself wondering if police were really like this in the confines of a "safe" environment, one with no civilians around. Are they at each other's throats? Do they not trust even their fellow officers? Do the divisions keep such deep secrets from one another? How prevalent are "moles"? Costello (Jack Nicholson) was truly frightening to me. He was smart and ruthless and utterly without morals, but fascinating in that he had to trust  at least those that worked for him, yet he was completely untrustworthy  he "ratted" to the FBI.
I was completely shocked at the ending and glad to be so. Knowing what's coming isn't that much fun and I was glad that I was into this movie enough to just go with it.
The Departed is bloody, sometimes shockingly so, and the language only makes it more violent. Coarseness and disregard for life is the theme and when the movie lets you go at the end you are still stained with the splatter.
This movie was one heck of a ride and I'm glad I went.