Scorsese scores again with The Departed

By Olivia Biagi
Collegian Reporter
October 11, 2006

At the risk of stating the obvious, Martin Scorsese knows how to twist a plot. His latest film, The Departed, features more turns than a roller coaster. However, the film twists and contorts in such a way that the audience doesn’t get lost amidst all the killing, sarcastic dialogue and double talk. Instead, he pulls viewers into the intricacies of the film until you are almost a part of it, wondering, “Who can I really trust?”

The Departed is another mob movie by Scorsese, but unlike Casino and Goodfellas, The Departed focuses on the Irish mob in Boston, and the Massachusetts State Police officers who are trying to shut it down. Billy Caustigan, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is a good kid from Boston with a bad family history who only wants to serve as a state cop.

But, before he can get his badge, he is given a dangerous assignment: he must go undercover as a criminal and work for the deadly (and insane) mob boss Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson. Only his two superiors know his true identity.

In order to cement his place as a criminal, Caustigan serves a prison sentence for a petty crime and starts dealing cocaine with his cousin. At the same time, Costello has sent one of his boys (Matt Damon) to go undercover as a cop in the unit that is trying to bust him.

The plot unfolds amazingly. Every character has a secret and nothing is as it seems. There is not one dull scene throughout the film, and the dialogue is hilarious. Scorsese does not yield to political correctness. He keeps it very realistic, such as any time an Irishman says anything about Italians, he calls them “guineas.”

The movie also showcases some of the greatest performances of the year, with credit to excellent casting. Nicholson is perfect as an insane killer like Frank Costello (remember The Shining? “Here’s Johnny!”).

Damon along with Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin were also phenomenal, as usual. The big surprise, however, was how great DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg were.

Of all the actors cast in The Departed, DiCaprio and Wahlberg are unarguably the weakest and most questionable of the film’s cast members. Sometimes in films, they just don’t deliver. However, despite what you may already think of their acting, both deliver excellently here. DiCaprio even manages to pull off a convincing Boston accent.

Wahlberg, for his part, is also convincing as a foul-mouthed, arrogant cop. He and Baldwin work well together and their sparring is very funny.

The film is shot beautifully. The camera angles and the lighting are perfect, and the transitions and flashbacks are typical Scorsese.

One difference from his other mob films, Casino and Goodfellas, is that he does not provide as much background information. Viewers do not learn much history about Frank Costello and his gang. Fortunately, it does not detract from the film; this just sets it at a faster pace.

All in all, The Departed is a near-perfect ten. Solid acting, great cinematography, amusing dialogue, a twisted plot and Jack Nicholson create a must-see movie. The Departed may very well be the best movie of 2006.

biagio1@lasalle.edu