An excellent work

Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2006)

"The Departed" may have roots elsewhere but it translates very well to American cinema.
The acting is top rate. The action well paced, and well edited. The characters realistically drawn, well cast and artfully placed in the sets. The suspense is non-stop. A more gripping movie I cannot remember. What's not to like?
This is a powerful piece of cinema by a director who has created some of America's most memorable films. I agree with some others that this addition to his portfolio ought finally win Scorcese the Oscar for Best Film, unless between now and Jan 1 there is a blockbuster I don't know about. If nothing else it assures him a placesetting at the table for Best American Movie Directors . . .
I loved the intensity of the character studies. The individual actors live their roles and the entire cast is experienced enough to submerge their egos. Nicholson's maniacal sociopathic Costello straddles the line between normalcy, fatherhood and family, and serial killer as if the only difference is the viewing angle. The boss lord, the heavy, he never allows you to relax when he is on screen, and creates tension with every look, every gesture. He menaces like a pit viper. I thought his best performance ever was in the movie "Ironweed" but comparing his role there and this one is apples and oranges. Great acting.
DiCaprio is absolutely marvelous. I hope he is nominated, and wins the Academy award for Best Actor for this. His previous collaboration with Scorcese in "The Aviator" didn't receive the acclaim for his portrayal of Howard Hughes I thought it merited. He has become a polished and versatile actor and his role as Costigan allows him to show what it must feel like to be caught up in a maze of unknown but constant danger. At the same time he is trying to navigate with whatever garbled clues he can find. Matt Damon is very good. Mark Wahlberg is excellent---another actor who has grown significantly in his ability to credibly convey a character. His in-the-face detective could be a caricature in the wrong hands, but in his there's a realism. It's the realism that underpins the effectiveness of "The Departed"---nothing seems that staged, and we're aware that the movie could possibly be cinema verite had the cameras been positioned just so. Scorcese's directoral strength may be his ability to bring that realism alive. In "Casino" it sometimes seemed we were behind the closed doors of the action, seeing what 99.9% of the public can't. "The Departed" looks, feels real. Scarily so.
The rest of the cast is good, not quite as effective as the principles perhaps. I thought the henchmen for Costella were excellent. One of my favorite actors, Alex Baldwin, was not up to his usual excellence--more the role and what it asked of him maybe, than his acting in the role. He might've been written a little heavier, less good-natured, more serious and angry, less somewhere in the middle. Overall, the movie rates a 9.5 from me. There are a few weaknesses, such as the relationship between Costigan and Madolyn which could've been fleshed out a little more, given a little more time together on screen to deepen our sense of what they share ---this is a case where a few more minutes might've helped and the movies is such a fun ride no one would notice the time anyway. I was literally glued to the screen in a way few movies ever have captured me. Do not make the mistake of drinking a lot of water before going to this movie---you don't want to miss a minute. Definitely a classic.