Grade:  B+

Director:  Martin Scorsese		Released:  October 2006
Writer:  William Monahan		MPAA Rating:  R
Players:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin		Running time:  152 minutes

Ratings System

I saw The Departed back in November 2006, but I held off posting my review until after the Oscars because I suspected this would be the year Scorsese would win.  My suspicion turned out to be accurate perhaps not because of his great work in 2006, but because of his consistently great work throughout his career.  I'm glad Marty won an Oscar, good for him.  But that's what the lifetime achievement award is for.  I suppose not many Academy members could defend the other nominees against Scorsese.  Sure, they did great work, but it wasn't significantly greater than what Scorsese accomplished, so they ended up big fat losers.

Critics were hailing The Departed as a return to form for Scorsese.  Or if not a return to form, at least his best film in many years.  These critics are also known as morons.  Morons, not because The Departed is bad, but because Gangs of New York was very good.  Why has there been so much backlash against Gangs of New York?  It's a damn fine film, and slightly better than The Departed.  Plus, The Aviator was no slouch either.

Like Cameron Diaz in Gangs, The Departed's weak link is the lone female who plays a significant role in the story.  She has zero chemistry with Matt Damon.  CrocoWife speculated that perhaps that was the point.  Perhaps they cast her precisely because she had no chemistry with Damon, but plenty of chemistry with DiCaprio.  I can't say for sure, but my money's on the idea that DiCaprio carried her in the scenes they were in, while Damon didn't have the chops to do the same.

The movie itself is entertaining, humorous, violent; it's twisting and turning, it's what you think it is based on the trailers.  And while there was plenty of it, the violence was surprisingly not disturbing.  I didn't cringe or flinch once.  The film's tone is comedic much of the time, which offsets the potential impact of the violence.

Speaking of comic undertone, Alec Baldwin is hilarious in the way only Alec Baldwin can be.

I enjoyed The Departed.  It's fun.  It's high quality entertainment.  But I wish it had been more than that.  I wish it had been more epic, with more punch.  At one point in the film, DiCaprio's character says to Nicholson's character, "there's only one question to ask.  Who thinks they can do your job better than you?"  That's a great premise for a gangster film, too bad The Departed didn't take it and run with it.  I wish it had.

- crocoPuffs