Oh captain, my captain....!

Rating: 10/10 (7 October 2006)

The Departed is - a good film.
It was more than what I expected, and even though many reviewers have stated there was much violence, I found that there wasn't as much as usual in the Martin Scorsese films of that genre.
What was interesting that on many occasions, the violence does come from out of nowhere and sometimes, unexpected. The Deaparted is a story about 'who is who': law enforcement having an organized crime mole embedded in their department and the organized crime folks having a police mole embedded in their department - each racing against time to find out who is who.
The performances of note do belong to Jack Nicholson (I do hope he does get an Academy Award nomination out of this!), Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon. Jack Nicholson owned the role of Frank Costello - he was slimy, crazy, calm, sexual and murderous. Leonardo DiCaprio has turned into quite the serious adult actor and not the pin-up pretty boy little girls drooled over. In this film, he's tough, violent, emotionally hurt, confused and used. Matt Damon also deserves kudos's for being one of the best characters in this film for he was calm, cool, collective and a cold bald faced liar.
The supporting cast was just as interesting: Alex Baldwin, Martin Sheen and Mark Walhberg in roles that drove the story along in ways you couldn't fathom - and that's what makes this film watchable. There's a lot going on, even in this films' 2 and a half hours, but everything is leading to a tie-up in the end.
Martin Scorsese brings his film team and film-making style to this project, which at times had me laughing at one minute and at other times in shock as to what was going on.
The Boston area is captured very nicely here. But be warned, the language is hard in this film, as so the violence - and nothing is PC. Nothing. From the beginning of this film to the end, you'll know it. If you get offended easily, this is a film you might be uncomfortable with viewing. So I'll close by saying, up until viewing this film, I loved drinking cranberry juice for the fun of it. I guess I'll find another drink - captain, my captain.