Film: The Departed Director: Martin Scorsese

Boston... some years ago

Jack Nicholson's opening monologue sets the perfect tone. I don't want to be a product of my environment; I want my environment to be a product... of me. Martin Scorsese's 'The Departed' is the best film of the year, hands down. Telling his story from the viewpoints of two imposters on opposite sides of the law, Scorsese has finally resurrected his original mean street persona, and embedded every single aspect of it straight into the heart of a city where personal wounds run much deeper than the blood they spill. This film is a Masterpiece! When we first meet Irish mob boss Frank Costello (Nicholson), he is collecting dues from a local deli owner. Sitting at the counter is young Colin Sullivan. Costello already knows a lot about his family, but underneath a nervous expression, Costello sees great potential for something this kid has yet to discover in himself. By the time he matures into the face of Matt Damon, we know exactly what Colin is doing. And because he now wears the badge of Boston PD, we know he will not be a pushover in doing it. Then we have Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), an ace police cadet who has lived a life of looking like different people with different accents. Undercover liaisons Capt. Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Sgt. Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) hand-pick Billy from the academy, and assign him to infiltrate Costello's circle under the guise of the Costigan legacy, which is mostly deceased; giving him the leverage of having no contacts. As the film moves along at a thundering pace, we follow both imposters over the next several years. Commendably enough, neither one of them loses sight of where their true loyalty rests, and there's never any question regarding the difficult choices each man will have to make in order to keep himself protected. But living a public existence that is the complete opposite of one's inner being is a task much easier said than done, and Scorsese never allows us to forget that as DiCaprio and Damon deliver two of the toughest performances in their respective careers. It's one thing to play a complex character, but to play a complex character who is then required to embody another complex identity is the testament of a true professional, and both leads rise to the occasion in every last scene. That is not to say however, that the more honest characters are any less fulfilling. Jack Nicholson is right at home as the cold-hearted mob boss. Whether he's rubbing out a couple of guineas from Providence, insulting a group of Catholic priests, or discussing business with a severed hand on his desk, Nicholson exhibits a multitude of aspects from Costello's personality, and then successfully weaves them into a fabric of pure evil; making the room feel colder every time he's on screen. My only question is, what exactly are the details behind the line, a lot of people had to die for me to be me? Maybe we're better off not knowing. Another straight-laced player caught in this web of deceit is Madolyn (Vera Farmiga). She is a police psychiatrist who becomes well acquainted with each of the two leads, but under separate terms. One is her lover, and the other is her client. She has no idea what kind of danger she could be in, but like so many of the others involved, her only mistake is not having all the information needed to understand it. One of Scorsese's greatest attributes as a director has always been his close attention to detail. In all of his movies (great or not), we can see and feel the tension evolving one step at a time, while the story maintains a bitter sense of urgency in every situation. If the cops or the criminals suspect that someone from the other side may be working for them, who's to say the informer on one side won't be entrusted to find himself? If Costello smells a rat, is he paranoid to question the new guy first? If

something happens to Queenan or Dignam, who will testify in court that Billy is in fact an undercover officer? And if someone makes a call on a dead guy's phone, could his silence be a giveaway to the man listening on the other end? All the secrets and betrayals of the undercover lifestyle become amplified to the highest possible degree when 'The Departed' reaches its final act. Scorsese saves much of the brutality for the closing minutes as Billy and Colin come face-to-face on the rooftop in a conclusion that perfectly illustrates the desolation and despair of a world that summons many of its inhabitants into the abyss of crime. The idea may have originated in the Hong Kong thriller 'Infernal Affairs' (which is a great film), but aside from the basic mechanics of its plot, 'The Departed' is truly a Scorsese picture. Much like his other gangster films, this one doesn't just supply its characters with common names, and then allocate them into a standard setting. The city of Boston (more specifically, South Boston) is to most of its residents, a world in and of itself, and the line between success and failure doesn't stretch too far beyond the neighborhood boundaries. It's also a working-class community founded under the principles of Irish-Catholicism, which (if you know your religion) carries a strict notion of guilt to all of its sinners. Billy and Colin are (undoubtedly) sinners, but considering the deceptive nature of their jobs, what choice do they have? I guess the fear of eternal damnation can dictate the human conscience. But the feeling of pride is one that has never been limited to the roots from which it has stemmed, and in the words of Costello: no one gives it to you... you have to take it.

Grade: A