A Belated Response - Moral Ambiguity

Rating: 8/10 (13 November 2006)

The Departed, is one of the better movies I have seen by Martin Scorcece, with Leonardo DiCaprio as a replacement for Robert De Niro, and with Jack Nicholson at his evil best, when you watch him on screen you realize that acting for him seems the most natural thing to do, nothing seems too difficult, everything comes easily, although it would interesting to see if he is able to play characters that are simple and straightforward, instead of people who seem to keep the company of the devil.
The movie is slow and methodical, where characters talk to each other and the story is allowed to develop for audiences to absorb and understand. But judgment is still out on Leonardo, he seems to express emotion and has screen presence, however this role does not have much range, it is limited in its scope, so one cannot really get an idea of his abilities, I maybe wrong for I have not seen some of his earlier movies. But I do not think he is the heir apparent, yet, to a Robert De Niro or an Al Pacino. I did find the female lead Vera Farmiga, fascinating, her performance was very good, and the relationship that develops between Madolyn and Billy Costigan, has a lot of chemistry and charisma, it is unfortunate that the director decided to leave it unresolved or to explain what happened to Madolyn, it would have been interesting. I did find Matt Damon's performance interesting, although a little wooden, because he is unable to express conflict very well.
As the movie reaches its final dramatic conclusions and resolutions, one is left with a feeling of incompleteness and irresolution and so one leaves the theater with a sense of Moral Ambiguity and a lot of unanswered questions. Although this is a pretty accurate depictions of the real world, with its sense of chaos, greed, corruption and violence, where the question is not one of good or bad or right or wrong, but one where an individual is measured in degrees of immorality.
One always hopes however, that in the world of fiction, we get to see our Moral and Ethical Dilemmas resolved with a clear distinction made between good and evil, right and wrong. At least that is why many of us in the Audience flock the theaters, although in much less numbers than before. Hoping to catch a glimpse of our hero's fight the forces of evil, with all their might and the advances in technology, sometime single handily but often with trusted Sancho at their side, triumphing in the end, and sometimes winning the heart of the most beautiful woman of them all and some of us in the Audience. But Art or what's left of it, demands that we stay true to life and to the story as conceived of by its creators.
Although our director does make significant and subtle attempts to take a moral stand, even our arch enemy, by the end begins to show hints of a conflict, a softening of the soul in his relationship with Billy, or in expressing compassion for the fate of the Frank Costello's lady friend. On the other hand, by the end, the director is unable to suppress his fascination with the Mechanical and Technical aspects of the enactment of the Violent Cinematic Death Scene, although Brutally Honest and Tragic, with a Visual Sense of Appeal, it seems empty and hollow if it somehow becomes disassociated with the story, as certain important or meaningful characters seem to disappear and one is left with a sense of loss at their sudden end or disappearance.