Scorsese's Oscar and this film's ending: as inevitable as a Greek Tragedy.

Rating: 10/10 (20 September 2007)

Java Man Reviews "The Departed" (2006, R). Directed by Martin Scorsese. Written by William Monahan. Starring Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin and Vera Farmiga. Running Time: 151 minutes This review originally appeared in LakewoodBuzz.com.
OVERVIEW:
Martin Scorsese, perhaps today's greatest living director, guides his grip truck through the mean streets again, this time steering into the Irish-American neighborhoods of South Boston. The first stop is the Massachusetts State Police induction ceremony, where two young recruits have earned their badges and are beginning their careers as cops. Ambitious Colin Sullivan (Damon) gets assigned to an elite investigative unit whose purpose is to bring down local crime boss Frank Costello (Nicholson).
Street-smart but hot-headed Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) soon gets booted off the force and ends up as a confidant to the corrupt Costello. Screenwriter Monaghan quickly reveals that each man is actually a mole working for the other side, thus freeing Scorsese to dispense with suspense and get right to the exploration of these two complex characters. Along the way they are joined by other macho lawmen played by the likes of Sheen, Baldwin and Wahlberg. Adding a welcome female presence is Madolyn (Farmiga), a fascinatingly inept therapist who manages to develop a too-close-to-the-couch relationship with both Costigan and Sullivan. Scorsese and his crew build up the tension to its inevitable conclusion, which is reminiscent of Greek tragedy.
REVIEW: 4 OUT OF 4 JAVA MUGS
Early in the film, Colin Sullivan is being tempted from his youthful paradise by Frank Costello, king of the Boston underworld. Young Colin is played by a young actor, but there is no attempt to portray Costello as a younger man. This is one Scorsese's genius strokes. We immediately realize that Nicholson's Costello is ageless, just as Satan and his evil intentions are ageless. This is Nicholson's best scene and as the film progresses, he slips in and out of character (and Southy dialect) as he wanders between previous personas from The Shining and Batman.
But that's no problem because this film has so much acting talent that it doesn't even need Jack in top form. DiCaprio and Damon give career-best performances, while such pros as Sheen and Baldwin do superlative supporting work. The most pleasant surprise comes from Wahlberg who is a revelation, and should have Mr. Scorsese direct all of his films. It has been noted that the former bad-boy based his character on a real-life Boston police officer who arrested him several times during his wayward youth. Farmiga, in the only prominent female role, capably keeps her head above water in this tidal wave of testosterone.
The devil is in the details (so to speak) and Scorsese doesn't miss a trick. For example, Damon has a scene at a funeral where we see him with on-the-job facial injuries. Though the other characters don't notice, Scorsese's camera captures his twisted face in such a way that we see into his twisted soul. The screenplay takes the characters on a wild ride through the streets of Boston, but somehow we sense how most of them will end up--as victims of fate and inevitability.
Scorsese has finally won his Oscar, as has the film itself. That, too, was inevitable.