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I never thought I would say this but . . . *sigh* I . . . I love Leonardo DiCaprio. Last week I saw Martin Scorsese's gangster flick "The Departed" starring DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson. It's been a long time since I've come out of a mainstream movie feeling utterly satisfied, but "The Departed" struck all the right chords.
This movie follows the Irish Mafia in the dark underbelly of Boston. It is provocative from the very first scene where we're given a peek into the warped mind of mob kingpin Frank Costello (Nicholson) by way of voiceover. "I don't want to be a product of my environment . . . I want my environment to be a product of me," he declares and that is exactly what happens. Costello and his enforcers infiltrate the entire city, controlling everyone and everything. When Colin Sullivan (Damon) is just a young boy, Costello secretly takes him under his wing. As he grows older he becomes an undercover informant for Costello infiltrating the Police Department. On the right side of the law is his fellow Police Academy Alumnus Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) who hails from a questionable background. He seems haunted by his past and unsure of himself which is why it is so easy for the police to talk him into becoming an undercover officer . Costigan feels he has nothing to lose and devotes himself to infiltrating the mob for the police. When both sides begin to suspect there are rats in their midst, all hell breaks loose. I don't want to give anything away, and even if I did the plot is far too complex to outline here so you'll just have to see it for yourself.
Scorsese has crafted a masterpiece here and even those who are not fans of the "gangster movie" genre will enjoy it. Every scene is significant and the soundtrack is excellent and really helps capture the mood of the film. Unlike most movies these days that are purely eye candy, Scorsese creates multi-dimensional characters the audience actually cares about. All the acting is superb, especially DiCaprio's as your heart goes out to him the most. His portrayal is very realistic and you can see him mentally unravel before your eyes. The everyday depravity of the gangsters is expertly portrayed, especially in the scene where Costello holds a severed human hand without blinking. The dialogue is witty and realistic, and the movie is verging on black comedy. Though this was obviously a large budget film, it does not reek of Hollywood and the violence is not glorified or excessive. This may sound strange since there is a pretty large amount of violence in this movie but it is used where it is necessary and not just to throw it in. It is also meant to horrify the audience and not to be enjoyable. While this is a good action movie it has many layers. Though this is a storyline that has been done before, Scorsese gives it a fresh spin and adds dimension.
This film is very intense and is not for the faint of heart or those who are made uneasy by gore and course language. This is also not a feel good movie and though "the bad guys get what they deserve" at the end, the ride there has unnerved you so much you cannot really feel good about it. "The Departed" is a movie that is much like a Shakespearian tragedy with plot twists, great dialogue and pile of bodies at the end.
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