Movies don't get much better than this.

Rating: 10/10 (28 January 2007)

D'you know the types of movies from which you walk out after your first view knowing (not thinking, but KNOWING) that it's among your favorite movies ever? D'you know how rare it is for a movie like that to come along? A movie that strikes you like a Muhammad Ali punch, appealing in all aspects to your movie-going senses? Well, my friends, the Departed is one of those movies. I could be blunt and end this review right now by saying there's simply nothing wrong with this movie and giving it 10 stars. And while that's absolutely true, why be blunt? In the opening scene of the movie, whilst you're flying through the skyline of Boston and hearing the Rolling Stones' classic "Gimme Shelter," you just know this will be one hell of a movie.
We've all seen mafia films, or just films focused on crime in general, where the plot focuses on the identification of a rat in the system. The rat, typically viewed as "bad" (for lack of a better turn) by the criminals, who have the audience's sympathy, is eventually found out, eliminated and voilà! The movie ends with the criminals winning and the audiences happy. But The Departed takes it to a completely different level, having not just one - but TWO rats; one working IN the Police Department FOR the mafia and one working FOR the Police Department WITH the mafia. It is here that the movie really succeeds, because both characters, with their completely different agendas, merit your sympathies throughout the film, and you're constantly questioning who to root for in the conflict.
The movie has so many solid performances that it should be illegal. Of course there are DiCaprio, Nicholson, Damon and Wahlberg to be spoken of, but even actors like Alec Baldwin (who I stopped taking seriously many years ago) Anthony Anderson (whom I've never much cared for) contributed positively to the film. My personal favorite performance was from Mark Wahlberg who, asshole that his character Dignam was, still delighted you every minute he was on screen.
As mentioned earlier, the soundtrack is a pivotal contributor to the overall effect of the movie. Scorsese used more popular, mainstream music as a backdrop, rather than predictable, clichéd orchestral and Opera music. (Although the latter does make an appearance in one scene of the movie.) He compiled a soundtrack of songs that fit each scene in which they were played. The aforementioned opener, "Gimme Shelter," for example, gives you that cool, collected feeling while being used to depict the cool, collected nature of Frank Costello's earlier years in power. Later, the best used song in the soundtrack, Dropkick Murphys' "I'm Shipping Up To Boston," reminds us all that, even though it's a mafia film, all the sh*t's going down in Beantown.
I'd compare the film to another Scorsese masterpiece, Taxi Driver, for one main reason. Both start out as "solid" movies, movies that entertain you and are worth the price of admission, but then develop into true classics as the reels roll on. (Pardon the pun.) With Taxi Driver, it was Betsy's rejection of Travis Bickle that catalyzed his dramatic character change. Here, it was the first MAJOR murder. (I say major, because there are numerous smaller ones throughout the film of little to no consequence. I won't further spoil this movie in naming the murder, but once you see it, you'll know - and the movie skyrockets from that point on into sheer ecstasy.)
Martin Scorsese SHOULD win the Best Director honor at the Oscars, and The Departed SHOULD win Best Picture this year. (They may or may not; you never know, given his luck with the Academy.) Regardless as to trophies and the decisions of a select group of so-called "movie experts," anyone who considers themselves a TRUE movie fan should see this movie. It might just be the best film Scorsese's ever made and, yes, it cracks my top 5 list.
10/10