Crime/Action/Drama
The Departed
Distributed by: Warner Brothers Studio
Reviewed by Ismael Manzano
Last week I found myself in the annoying position of having four hours to kill in the city before school. It didn’t make any sense to go home just to have to head back into the city less than an hour later, so I decided to catch a movie. I wish I could say that my choice to see Warner Bros’ The Departed spoke of my keen eye for good movies, but the truth is, at two hours and change, it was the longest movie playing, hence watching it would eat up more time before school.
The Departed is another Martin Scorsese crime epic involving everything you’ve come to expect from Martin Scorsese. Needless to say, the movie is riddled with curses, violence and blood, so don’t take your kids with the crush on Matt Damon or Leo DiCaprio to see this movie. The movie is littered with a host of big named stars, but the focal point is mostly divided evenly between Colin Sullivan (Damon, The Bourne Identity, Good Will Hunting), and Billy Costigan (DiCaprio, Titanic, Gangs of New York). Colin Sullivan is an Irish cop, recruited as a child by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson…you know who he is), a mob boss, to eventually infiltrate the police and keep him appraised of their every move. Sullivan is a model officer and no one suspects his involvement with the mob. He quickly rises through the ranks, eventually landing a job in the State Police, a specific branch working with the FBI to take down mob bosses like Costello.
On the other side of the tracks, Billy Costigan, nephew to another famous mob boss, is trying desperately to step out from under the dark cloud that is his family’s reputation. He joins the police force and is up for the same promotion that Sullivan receives. Only Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg, Invincible) and Capitan Queenan (Martin Sheen), feel that Billy’s history and his temper will best suit him undercover. They erase his record, put him in jail for several months and have him infiltrate Costello’s organization from the ground up. Only Dignam and Queenan know who Billy really is. It isn’t long before both sides find out that they’ve been infiltrated, and both Billy and Colin scramble to uncover the other’s identity.
That’s about as much as I can say without giving away the entire story. But I will say this: This movie was great. The two and a half hours flew right by and I loved every minute of it. The action was intense, the plot carefully spun, and the acting brilliant. On a personal note, I’ll admit that I’d never liked DiCaprio, not one bit, but I could never deny his acting ability and he really shines in this film. Unlike such movies like Donnie Brasco where the main character looks cool and almost aloof throughout their undercover experience, DiCaprio did an excellent job of conveying his constant fear of being found out and killed. I found myself feeling genuinely sorry for the guy and had to remind myself that it was just a movie. Matt Damon, as always, did a great job, but the prize in this film has to go to Mark Wahlberg, whose portrayal of the smartass Dignam had me laughing every time.
Overall, the movie was great. It started a little slow, but that’s what good movies do, pull you in, get you invested and keep you there. And I must now say that I’ve never seen a movie, in my life with so many headshot deaths. I was shocked at every, single one, partially because they looked so real, and partially because of the unexpectedness of most of them. If you’re a fan of Scorsese or of the mob film genre, you must see this film. You will not regret it.
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