The Departed, re-reviewed

Today, 'The Departed' won four Oscars, including best picture. I thought I'd take the opportunity to pay tribute to it by re-posting an old review. Once again, a new movie, but one that has pushed it's way into my top 5 all time movies. Its a damn fine watch.

Last night I saw The Departed. Wow what a movie. Scorcese has gathered a top line cast - Matt Damon, Leo Dicaprio, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, and Jack Nicholson. And this was some of the best acting I have ever seen from some of these. Defintely the best I've seen from Dicaprio, as the Police officer undercover in the Irish Mob. I thought he's done a good job in the past, but tends to come across as a petulant child. Actually, I haven't thought he has been convincing as an actor since Gilbert Grape. He does a fine job here as a man truly conflicted by his sense of duty, his honour, and his greed. Jack Nicholson, as the brutal and conniving Mob underboss was in fine semi-evil form as maniacal as any of his Oscar winning roles were. Alec Baldwin, a ranking police officer was simply great, egotistical, arroant, and barking mad. Matt Damon, the mob mole slowly climbing the police ranks, is brilliantly opportunist, obviosuly looking after himself foremost and mentally sticking two fingers up at anyone willing to come between him and a comfortable kind of survival. The set up of the movie was great with a twisted plot where you are never entirely sure about who is good and who is bad. The camera and editing, brilliant, and the soundtrack was really enjoyable.

The movie is set in gritty, Irish dominated Boston, and we see the tension of those growing up in the almost-slums of South Bostson, an area shadowed by organised crime. The gangs are simple, loyal, and hard-nosed. The cops are high-tech, dedicated, and honest (?). The basic premise - the cops want to bring down the Irish mafia. The Irish mafia want to control the cops. At thge same time, each group sends a man undercover into the other, and it is the corssing of these paths theat builds the wholemovie. It keeps you enthralled and thinking throught he whole movie - I kept finding myself secretly cheering for the bad guys. It is pretty visually brutal, and the language is off the scale, so probably not a movie for meek, sheltered Christian types; but to do this movie justice, I think it needed to be exactly this full on. Certain scenes had the mostly make audience cheering, but its the tension portrayed by the two respective 'undercover' agents, what they will do to avoid suspicion and getting aught, and just how close they keep comign to each other, that drives this fantastic movie.

Definitely a good way to waste two hours!