This won Best Picture?

Rating: 7/10 (12 March 2007)

I caught Scorsese's latest at a second-run house after the Academy Awards had been dealt out, and was left perplexed that this remake of the Hong Kong quickie, "Mou gaan dou (Infernal Affairs)," garnered Best Picture and secured Scorsese's long-overdue win as Best Director.
Make no mistake, "The Departed" is an entertaining thriller, well acted for the most part, well-directed, shot and produced well, but Best Picture? I think not. Scorsese has done much better, more memorable, interesting films. "Gangs of New York" and "Goodfellas" spring instantly to mind. My opinion is that the Academy has simply finally given Scorsese his long-awaited props as a filmmaker, nothing more. It won't be too long before "The Departed" joins past Oscar winners like "The English Patient" in the ranks of attractive, but totally dispensable film entertainment.
That said, I thought the film was overly long. The subplot involving the leads' mutual paramour, the lovely Vera "The Manchurian Candidate" Farmiga, was mostly unnecessary padding to the slim story. Matt Damon is fine as the flip side to Leonardo DiCaprio's heads-up coin, although original choice Brad Pitt would have served equally well, and DiCaprio shows that he's here to stay as a talented and bankable star. Jack Nicholson does what he does best (chew scenery), but strikes me as about as Irish as--oh, I don't know--Mr. Whipple. The rest of the cast is competent, but not overly distinguished; virtually all of their roles could have been assayed by other actors. Wahlberg's nomination for Best Supporting Actor is an equal mystery to me; he did nothing he hasn't done before, and better.
I just don't see "The Departed" having much to offer beyond a few hours of idle entertainment. It's a good movie, but hardly a classic, and definitely not one of Scorsese's best.