"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."

Rating: 8/10 (18 February 2007)

The first lines of this movie are said in a monologue by Jack Nicholson's mob-boss character Frank Costello. He starts with, "I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me." This line essentially sums up the movie even before it begins. The Departed is an Americanized version of a Hong Kong filmed called Infernal Affairs, and tells the story of two Boston state troopers--one goes undercover and works against the Costello gang from within (Leonardo DiCaprio's Billy Costigan) and one works for the Special Investigation Unit while still on Costello's payroll (Matt Damon's Colin Sullivan). Each one lives in a world of deception, each trying to keep their real motives a secret from their adoptive bosses, each trying to out maneuver the other. The Departed ends up being a 150 minute long cat and mouse game between two guys who are referred to as rats in the entire movie. At first, each takes to their responsibilities with vigor and enthusiasm, with Costigan having the more difficult assignment, trying to infiltrate a gang who all knew he was once a cop. As the movie goes a long, we feel the noose tightening around each, as both characters go through moments of dread and loss, until the bloody ending where all of the characters who deceived and schemed ended up getting a suitable punishment. Each character in the movie imposes their outlook on the world on their situations, as each one makes their own luck, so to say, as the first line uttered by Nicholson alluded to. None of the characters are the result of a predetermined destiny, as everyone made decisions on their own and had to live with their results. As Costello said, their environments were all products of their own actions. As far as Scorsese's direction goes, it is as usual top-notch, with quick cuts when quick cuts are needed, a neat opening that gives about as much background information as we viewers could possibly need in a fast-paced 15 minutes before the opening credits even finish, a fine selection of music (almost Tarantino -like in how the music matched each scene), and as much violence and obscenities as you could possibly get in two and a half hours. Boston makes for a fascinating location for a movie such as this--a rich subtext to each character, the possibility for interesting supporting players, and a gritty street life that makes it a poor man's version of New York City, without having thousands of movies made about it already. The one problem with the Boston setting is the accent thing--some of the characters lose the accent then it magically comes back. This is always a concern when it comes to Boston movies. Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen are terrific as high-level police officers, and Mark Wahlberg goes all in with his portrayal of the salty Sergent Dignam. But the real stars are DiCaprio and Damon, each young actors who have really developed into well-rounded portrayers of emotion and gravitas. Yes, DiCaprio may never really leave the Titanic, but here he shows he can act in a subtle, yet strong roll in a Scorsese movie that is almost as good as Goodfellas.