The Departed Movie Review

Rating: 10/10 (11 December 2019)

This blockbuster, high concept Hollywood film was directed by Martin Scorsese and featured a star cast of Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Martin Sheen, and Mark Wahlberg. The story is loosely based off the violent life of former South Boston crime lord James "Whitey" Bulger (Nicholson), as it follows an undercover cop (DiCaprio) trying to infiltrate the Irish Gang of Boston and also identify a mole (Damon) in the Massachusetts State Police Department with the help of Detectives Queenan (Sheen) and Dignam (Wahlberg). The film shows two men, Captain Colin Sullivan of the State Police Department (Damon) and Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), an undercover cop infiltrating the murderous and crime-fueled Irish Gang, led by boss Frank Costello (Nicholson), attempting to discover each other's identities while also trying to live their professional lives as the complete opposite of their inner selves. This film can be labeled as a cinematic masterpiece, as Scorsese uses the best actors of our generation to convey a story of murder, crime, and love in over three hours of suspense, action, and thrill.
Nicholson delivers a masterful performance as a mob boss who thrives off of murder, extortion, and drug use. His mixture of evil tendencies and smart business tactics make it thrilling for the audience to watch him as the movie progresses, and to eventually see him slip into madness as he tries to identify who the "rat" in his gang is. DiCaprio, the lead actor in this film, does an unbelievable job of portraying his characters paranoia as an undercover cop - someone always looking over his shoulder, always afraid that he'll end up dead at any moment. His paranoia initiates direct paranoia towards the audience as well, as Scorsese keeps us on the edge of our seats as the movie progresses and Billy Costigan is one step away from becoming another undercover killed in the line of duty.