Return to form, return to greatness.

Rating: Null/10 (15 January 2011)

Martin Scorsese has long been seen as one of, if not the, great American film directors. Film after film, he has continued to explore new pathways and areas of both cinematic and storytelling greatness in classic films that have stood the test of time. The Departed is such a film.
This was Scorsese's most mainstream film to date (it has since been replaced by Shutter Island), and it featured an all-star cast that very few directors could ever pull together. All gave standout performances, particularly Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon. They are the key characters; everything goes through them and Scorsese uses close-ups of their respective faces to emphasize and emulate all the feelings and ideas he is presenting. With that in mind, they both are very convincing with the Boston accents, with the constant profane interactions and the extreme deviousness. Perhaps because they are both professional liars some viewers tend to criticize them more harshly; it can be difficult to feel empathetic for someone not necessarily true to themselves.
The main underlying theme here is one Scorsese has tapped into again and again: guilt. Ever since his first film, Who's That Knocking at My Door? in which Harvey Keitel played a young man wary of his relationship with his girlfriend after finding out she was raped, the notion of guilt and its relation to faithfulness to the Catholic Church has dominated Scorsese's mode of thought. Here, guilt lies on all the characters. Each of them completely embody the new life they are to now acquire. Colin Sullivan (Damon) is a clean-cut kid with an immaculate record as well as a former gangster turned State Police sergeant. He is the perfect tool for Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) to use to keep the cops on their toes and his business alive. On the flip side, Billy Costigan(DiCaprio) is a kid with family connections to South Boston gangsters attempting to make it into the State Police. He is assigned to inform for the police into Costello's organization. Right from the get-go, Scorsese establishes the pain and pressure these two will face in regards to their professional compromise.
Another buried element here is the idea of identity. What exactly is it to these men? What is their true identity and how can they get it back? Because Sullivan and Costigan spend so much time pretending to be what they are not, eventually they get caught up in attempting to succeed at a job that isn't really theirs. In some ways, Scorsese creates an atmosphere that is deliberately contrary to that of his 1990 masterpiece Goodfellas. In that film, everything rested on the joy Henry Hill had in committing crime and living the mafia life. Here, these emotions must be subdued, lest someone get caught and possibly murdered.
In the end, I believe this is one of Scorsese's best films along with Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, After Hours, Goodfellas and The Age of Innocence. All of the aforementioned films tell stories of men conflicted with living how they are told and how they are able to. Here, Costigan and Sullivan symbolize that. On top of all the underlying themes, this is just a very well-made cop and gangster picture. The acting is superb, the editing is so sharp and jolting so as to keep the tension and suspense alive, the cinematography greatly captures the tender living conditions in Boston, and of course Scorsese's Oscar-winning direction corrals everything together to create one gloriously entertaining film. It is a return to classic Scorsese form as well as Scorsese greatness.