Excellent....with holes.

Rating: 8/10 (10 March 2008)

This film came out 2 years ago, so sharing my thoughts on such a popular yet relatively old release is purely an exercise in boredom. Good thing I'm not the only one who could be accused of that here.
Unlike many who have submitted comments about The Departed I have not seen Internal Affairs, so I had nothing to base the movie on but itself. In an era of really bad movie making it was a pleasure to view this film and realize that there are still people trying to make impactful mainstream movies. The Departed is far from perfect, but it is top quality movie making with a top quality cast.
Please forgive the random nature of my thoughts on this movie. First, for some reason I enjoy star-studded casts. It is fun to see so many recognizable actors apply their craft together. I thought Leo DiCaprio was sensational as William, but it is still hard for me to watch him as anything other than Titanic boy. Nicholson's role was beefy, a great opportunity for Jack to ham it up a bit. Ironically, if anyone gets lost in this film it's him. His quirks were eluded to, but rarely shown on screen. To me, that made Costello too one dimensional.
The script was gritty, but not without its holes. The female psychoanalyst subplot seemed trumped up, and I am not at all convinced any professional in her spot would strike up a relationship with William. I also agree with a previous post that said that the film could not decide if Costello was a big time crime lord (micro-processors) or a small time hood (lunch counter shakedowns). Maybe it was hard to swallow the sensational when the film tries to be real and gritty.
The final scenes have gotten a lot of discussion and I agree that the conclusion seemed rushed. Everyone gets shot and that's it? I would have liked the movie to go back to Walberg and Baldwin's characters for a little closure.
The Departed is no Godfather, but it is a nod to classic, raw 70's gangster movies. Despite some questionable plot decisions it still delivers like few movie of its ilk can.