A Masterpiece… Except for the usual Scorsese slips.
Seriously… Director Martin Scorsese finally delivers a mind blowing, crowd pleasing, genuine Hollywood heavyweight. As Scorsese testifies, “It was the first picture I made with a plot.” It seems like that is exactly what the people were waiting for, as the opening weekend gross of $26.8 million obliterated all other Scorsese releases. And regardless of its shortcomings, Marty certainly reassures us all that he is still the master of modern mortality with a riveting final half-hour of elegant and exciting violence that is right on par with the ‘Baptism/Murder’ crescendo in “The Godfather” -- when Michael Corleone finishes all of the family’s unfinished business. With “The Departed,” it seems that Marty also finishes some business of his own. Now give him the damn Oscar!
*Expanded Review in "Comments"
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*EXPANDED REVIEW:
A Masterpiece… Except for the usual Scorsese slips.
First, realize a few things: that this film takes place in a fantasized contemporary world, that Jack Nicholson can’t help but act extremely ridiculous, and of course, that Marty Scorsese is a highly stylized director— the musical selections, the over-lighting, the frequent and casual violence, and the excessive story exposition… and once all of this is understood, or more importantly, accepted (asking too much?), then you can really begin to have fun with this movie.
Seriously… Director Martin Scorsese finally delivers a mind blowing, crowd pleasing, genuine Hollywood heavyweight. And his long-time loyalists can't be more thankful. Credit begins with a brilliantly complex screenplay adapted from the 2002 Chinese film "Infernal Affairs." As Scorsese testifies, “It was the first picture I made with a plot.” It seems like that is exactly what the people were waiting for, as the opening weekend gross of $26.8 million ($123 M to date) obliterated all other Scorsese releases.
And regardless of its shortcomings, Marty certainly reassures us all that he is still the master of modern mortality with a riveting final half-hour of elegant and exciting violence that is right on par with the ‘Baptism/Murder’ crescendo in “The Godfather Part I”-- when Michael Corleone finishes all of the family’s unfinished business. With “The Departed,” it seems that Marty also finishes some business of his own.
Also, for the most part, this legendary ensemble cast displays career acting performances, most notably Leo DiCaprio, who brings an amazing raw energy and intensity to his roles, balancing both the physical and psychological demands of his complex character, and was only beat out for a Best Actor nod by himself in “Blood Diamond.” Matt Damon even knocks one out of the park, especially considering his character spends most of the time on a cell phone, alone in an office trying to orchestrate the near impossible.
Now, coping with Nicholson’s absurd over-performance is probably an issue on to its own… How much better might this movie have been had DeNiro played Frank Costello, rather than the attention starved Jumpin’ Jack, who seemed like he was just horsing around until he got to the Lakers game later that night (i.e. playing with a dildo in a porno theater)? See Born Critic for more on that…
http://borncritic.blogspot.com/2006/10/departed.html
But perhaps the most serious fault and valid critique of “The Departed” is its excessive exposition at the head of film… For one, Frank Costello is granted far too much screen time, and just so he can deliver pointless monologues and annoy helpless townspeople. Also, does the relationship between Costello and Colin Sullivan (Damon) really have to be so thoroughly established with minor scenes from Sullivan’s youth and then the Police Academy/Rugby chapter?
We could have skipped all of this and just understood the fact that Costello and Sullivan are in cahoots with one another. But too many Scorsese films tend to fall into the same trap with running time, where he cuts a terrific long-running film, but it really feels like the butchered result of something between a masterful 4-hour epic and a mind-blowing 2-hour feature. In this case, Manwithavan says chop the first 30 minutes.
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