Scorsese back where he belongs

Rating: 9/10 (21 October 2006)

It's refreshing to see three of American cinema's biggest names return to something like top form. Since Goodfellas, Scorsese, Hollywood's crime lord, has seen switches in genre proved unsuccessful at the box office and amongst critics: period pieces, Kundun, Gangs of New York and The Aviator. Damon and Di Caprio also make searing returns to form, the former finally coming out of the shadow of that infernal puppet in Team America (remember he wrote Good Will Hunting) in this thrilling Boston crime epic from the master of the genre.
A remake of the Hong-Kong 2002 thriller, Infernal Affairs, The Departed sees the divide between both sides of the law blur as an all-star Hollywood cast swear, kill and even butcher their way through the complexities of life in the Boston-Irish mafia. There are rats on both sides and no one can be sure who has the sharpest teeth until Scorsese pulls back the curtain for his tense, seat-gripping finale.
This is an 18 certificate movie so: vulgar profanity. Check. Lots of blood. Check. And Jack Nicholson's sublime gangland boss hitting on an underage girl asking if she'd got her period yet. Check. It sounds wrong but trust me; this is comedy but damn is it dark.
The movie has is problems: it's a 'bum-number' i.e. a little long for some tastes and female character who becomes involves with Di Caprio and Damon feels at times somewhat inconsequential but these are very small needles in a gloriously entertaining haystack.
In a nutshell: Awesome! The most entertaining picture this year. Not for the faint hearted but if you loved Goodfellas, if you love Scorsese you will not be disappointed.