After such productions as “Gangs of New York” and
“The Aviator”, Martin Scorsese’s 2006 return to the silver screen, “The
Departed”, yet again enlists the talent of Scorsese’s man of choice, Leonardo
DiCaprio. A remake of the 2002 Hong Kong flick “Infernal Affairs”, The Departed
is set in South Boston and tells the tale of
the devious tactics employed in the ongoing war between the state police and
organized crime.
The film kicks off on a high note with magnificently
edited flashbacks, courtesy of Thelma Schoonmaker, playing in tune to the
Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter, while Ganglord Frank Costello (Jack
Nicholson) introduces viewers to the state of mounting tension between the
Irish mafia and the establishment. In a bid to outsmart their adversary, the
police assign undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) to infiltrate
the mob consortium run by Costello. The Irish mob however proves itself a
worthy opponent by sending in Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) to penetrate the
Special Investigation Unit.
While Costigan does a good job of using his manic
depressive, anti social outbursts to reach Costello and his men, Sullivan too
continues to establish himself as a force to reckon with in the police
department. So committed are these two men to their alter existence, it is
often difficult to figure out whose side you’re on. Soon enough, after numerous
failed attempts to bust Costello and his gang, both parties realize they have a
rat in their midst. What follows is a heated scramble between Costigan and Sullivan
to expose the true identity of the other, so as to protect himself.
Although presented with a strong plot with immense
potential, Scorsese’s adaptation of the HK thriller falls short by many a
country mile. Somewhere into the film, the director seems to have lost
direction, churning out banal shots, dialogue and plot twists wherein lay the
potential for visual genius. Despite the above however, The Departed managed to
clean up at the box office solely on the merit of its stellar cast, with scintillating
performances delivered by DiCaprio and Martin Wahlberg as the ballsy and
profane bad cop Sergeant Dignam. At times the script delivers literary
masterpieces interspersed with witty dialogue, albeit peppered with
a little too many expletives for my liking.
Much of the inane
ramblings of Costello and the pointless inclusion of the insipid criminal
psychiatrist Madolyn Madden (Vera Farmiga) could have been left out to make
this movie a more digestible 100 minutes, instead of upsizing it to a stodgy
150 minute saga, with a rancid after taste.
On the whole, The Departed lacks depth, coming
across as a stack of events strung together and left to air out like dirty
laundry. This coupled with surprisingly contrived performances from such
seasoned veterans the likes of Jack Nicholson and Martin Sheen have contributed
to the films mediocrity, the plot seeming to prematurely climax long before hitting
the 60 minute mark. With a few intense, action packed scenes and more
than its fair share of blood and gore, The Departed is by far a lukewarm
Scorsese effort, at best.