Departed: Unter Feinden

Please don't make negative comments like some of the aforementioned people have been doing if you haven't seen the film yet! I have seen it, at a press screening last week. Not only is it the best film of the year so far, it marks a return to form for Martin Scorsese, and ranks with the likes of GOODFELLAS as being one of the best in his canon of films.

I'm a fan of the Hong Kong film, INFERNAL AFFAIRS, upon which this is based. While THE DEPARTED keeps the basic structure of the original, it is very much its own movie, so much so that the screenwriter, William Monahan, didn't even watch the original film while adapting its screenplay, thus enabling him to infuse the script with his, and Scorsese's, respective visions.

All the actors are first-rate (yes, even Leo, for all you DiCaprio bashers out there), and turn in some of their best performances to date. THE DEPARTED is sure to garner a host of Oscar nods, if not wins, including (hopefully) Scorsese's long-overdue statuette for Best Director. Plus, with actors like Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin playing supporting roles, that says a lot about the quality of the film they signed up for! THE DEPARTED is tough stuff, not for the faint-of-heart. That said, it is a must-see for adult viewers who long for intelligent, gritty stories to grace our movie screens once again.

Nicholson, Damon, and Dicaprio make for an absolute powerhouse trio in this classic film. I have had this on my watch list for quite some time, and although it wasn't as rock solid as I was expecting, it's ending was right up my alley. Aside from the phenomenal acting and the satisfying conclusion, I was only impressed with the simplicity of which a complex double-rat story was told. I never felt lost trying to keep track of who worked for who and who was spying on who, because the filmmakers laid it out so clearly for me.

The war between the police and the organised crime in Boston has reached new heights. Both Oliver Queenan and target #1 Frank Costello have placed a mole into each other's organisations. Billy Costigan is selected to infiltrate Costello's ranks thanks to a family background of criminals and working men, meanwhile Colin Sullivan has been groomed since youth to come up inside the ranks of the BPD. As Costigan makes progress it becomes clear to his police superiors that they too have a rat feeding information outwards. With only Frank knowing Sullivan's identity and Queenan and Dignam knowing Costigan's, a race begins with the first one to expose the other winning.

Having enjoyed the original film, I was quite looking forward to this film and not really worried that Hollywood would mess it up. In a way it does deliver but it is hard to ignore the problems and failings in the film and if I didn't realise how IMDb put together their top 250 list, I would be amazed that the film is running so high up it. The original was a tight cop thriller which I remember thinking owed much to American cinema in style and tone, so surely America can only do it better? Well, if not better then this is certainly bigger, with stars oozing out of every pore, a big director and a long running time. In regards the latter, the film should be commended for moving slickly through the 150 minutes and not feeling as long as it is. The fact that it is cool, engaging and quite exciting will be enough for most audiences and indeed the sheer volume of positive votes on this site shows it has struck something of a chord, but this is not to say it is a classic and those putting it alongside Goodfellas are simply out of their trees.

The script here tries to give more room for growth to the characters, to explore their feelings outside of the tension and fear of their situation. Unfortunately this produces many scenes that are a bit dull and unconvincing as they attempt to deepen the material. Specifically I am talking about the thread involving the girlfriend, her scenes add little and the dialogue in the session scenes is obvious and, as a Sopranos viewer, I was surprised by this. A secondary downside of this (although not totally to blame) is that it is not as gripping and claustrophobic as I would have liked. Yes it is thrilling at times but I wanted it to be consistent like a real cat'n'mouse game with the noose tightening palatably around each character's neck as they raced to hang the other first. The ending is also a little less effective than it should be because, added to the original's strong ending is an extra scene that doesn't have a strong foundation and is not as good as it should have been.

Ironically for such a starry affair, some of the performances are a bit weak, and I'm thinking specifically of Damon. He never seems like the flipped version of Costigan and I never really got the feeling of him being trapped, panicked and hunted in the same way as his opposite number was. Conversely then DiCaprio is pretty strong and is convincing as he loses himself into Costello's gang of murderers. He works well alongside a scene-stealing Nicholson. At times he threatens to completely tip over into ham but for the most part he is just larger than life and provides a lot of energy to the film. This energy is harnessed well by director Scorsese who directs with this usual eye for a setup and also an enjoyable soundtrack. The use of sudden stops in the music and quick cuts is perhaps a bit much to get used to but it is strangely effective. The support cast is impressive in depth but they are not all that well used. Walhberg has all the best lines but it seems like he has wandered in from another movie at times and, funny as he was, he is never the developed and involved character that he needed to be for the way the narrative required. Baldwin is the same although he is more restrained and fits better, while Sheen is a nice touch of class. The woman playing the girlfriend is as weak as her material and although she did have an important part in the story, she adds very little beyond the writing on the page.

Overall though, this is a strong and professional film and it is a shame that it isn't as good as I wanted. The attempts to paint detailed and complex characters makes it interesting but not as convincing as it needed to be – with Damon in particular left out there with little to work with in comparison to DiCaprio. The moments of slick tension and action are very good though and the only downside was that it made me wish for more of the same and that Scorsese had focused on keeping it tight and taut in the same way that the superior original had.

When The Departed finally gained for Martin Scorsese a Best Director Oscar it was felt it might have been for the work of a lifetime. It's not my favorite Scorsese film, that honor belongs to Casino for me. But it certainly was the Best Film of that year as well, rivaled in my humble opinion by Blood Diamond.

Instead of an Italian atmosphere for The Departed, Scorsese decided to use the Boston Irish who are the dominant group of that city in everything including crime. The film is simple enough, the police want to take down organized crime kingpin Jack Nicholson who plays a character named Frank Costello. That was Scorsese's little joke because the real Frank Costello was one of the Mafia overlords back in the day, although his real name was an Italian one.

Nicholson's character is based on Whitey Bulger who was the real life organized crime chieftain of the Boston area. He came from a really interesting family because a brother of his William Bulger had a long political career that culminated in that Bulger being elected President of the Massachusetts State Senate. I didn't add the word distinguished because scandal crept around that man all his life.

Getting this man won't be easy because he has a full bag of tricks. One of them being that years ago he put a young man played by Matt Damon through the Boston Police Academy, concealing a juvenile record and Damon moved gradually up the ranks and got to work in the Boston PD Internal Affairs Division. A great spot for a mole to keep an eye on pending investigations.

But the Boston PD has put one of their own undercover in the person of Leonardo DiCaprio whose family knows Nicholson from the neighborhood. At that point the whole film becomes a cat and mouse game on both sides with each having their informants on the other side. There are no dummies on either side, the police aren't keystone cops and the criminals as shrewd and brutal as they come.

Scorsese probably had a lot of help in having both Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg in the cast. Both of these players are well known for their Boston roots and they fit really well into their parts. Mark Wahlberg for his role as one of the task force trying to take Nicholson down got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He lost to Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine.

Wahlberg was the only one who came up short at Oscar time. The Departed won additional Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing to go with the Best Picture And Best Director Oscars for Scorsese. Leonardo DiCaprio had a career year, he might have been nominated himself if he wasn't up for Best Actor in Blood Diamond.

The real Whitey Bulger is 80 years old now and in real life he was as full of tricks as Nicholson's character is in the film. If you think you know how this film ends, I guarantee you will be wrong. Nicholson's character has survived in many ways, that's all I can say.

Scorsese has a nice feel for Boston's atmosphere, as good as what he had for Goodfellas in New York and Casino in Las Vegas. He assembled a great cast of people who all got a crack at working with one of the best film directors of all time. The cast didn't let Martin down at Oscar time and they won't let you down when you see it on the big screen or the small.

Now I know that 'The Departed' is based off of the Hong Kong movie 'WuJianDao', but Scorsese really grabs hold of a great story and brings it to the American Screen. My father grew up in Boston and when we walked out of the theater he couldn't stop talking about how authentic the environment and attitude was. Then there's the acting in which the lead actors (Nicholson, DiCaprio, Damon) not only give stunningly entertaining performances, but you become engulfed in each one's perspective and dilemmas. The smaller roles that of (Baldwin, Walberg, Sheen) are supporting roles that remind me of Jesus Quintana from 'The Big Lebowski', by this I mean that their screen time is limited but they make lasting impressions that you cherish each and every scene they are in, Alec Baldwin especially. The story itself starts off with the basic intro of the players and the setting, but you'll find yourself slowing following each and every plot twist and rooting back and forth for the good guys and for the bad guys. If you're a Scorsese fan, which I am, I think you will appreciate this film. You can clearly see the Scorsese touch ranging from the cinematography and of course the music, it's great to hear "Gimme Shelter" again, but "Comfortably Numb" played in so well. It's another gangster flick from Scorsese, yet this one stands alone because feels so fresh and most would agree Scorsese does gangster films the best; so why not let him. Oscar worthy, the acting I certainly hope; this is DiCaprio's best role since 'The Aviator' which was his best role since 'Gangs of New York', am I seeing a pattern here. But my lasting impression wasn't concerned with the politics of the golden statue; my lasting impression was that I had sat through 2 and half hours of brilliant and especially entertaining storytelling. Thank you Mr. Scorsese.