The movie is a violent crime drama about a local mafia crime boss, and an undercover agent trying to bring him down, and a dirty detective. What makes this film so good is its absolute superb delivery of its material. The dramatic tension builds, then releases, and then builds and releases, and there really is never a dull moment. The movie seamlessly flows from one confrontation to another, one suspense building scene to another. "The Departed" is a tough movie with tough characters, and it looks it.
The Departed is a hard, visceral work, as unsentimental and shocking as anything the director has done. Adapted from the 2002 Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, “The Departed” features an intricate plot, an epic scope and a cracking-good cast that includes prickly supporting turns from Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg and Ray Winstone besides the admirable ensembles of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello, a Boston mob boss who's the target of a state police investigation into organized crime. He hand-picks young Colin Sullivan (Damon) at an early age to mentor then slip into the ranks of the state police. Colin swiftly rises through the ranks to a spot in the Special Investigation Unit, whose main focus is to take down Frank Costello.
Meanwhile, another police rookie, Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), is asked by two powerful men in that unit -- the caustic Sgt. Dignam (Wahlberg) and his level-headed superior Capt. Queenan (Martin Sheen) -- to live down to his reputation of a street hothead a cadet with family ties to several criminal bottom feeders. This makes Costigan ideal as an undercover mole. So there's a rat on the force, and there's a rat in the gang, and lies lead them both through a maze of deadly consequences. DiCaprio's performance here is perhaps more impressive than Nicholson's, given that we already know how well Jack pulls these roles off. I've never seen DiCaprio convey such intensity on screen. As his character passes through a complex range of emotions, from rage, to paranoia, to despair, DiCaprio nails each one. Four cheers to him.
There was these most perfect cinematic moment in the later stages of “The Departed”. Cut off from his handlers, feeling more alone than at any other point in the movie, undercover police officer Costigan ( DiCaprio) receives a call on his mobile phone. The phone is his only real point of contact with the powers that be Capt. Queenan(Martin Sheen), and yet - under the circumstances - he knows answering it would be a bad move.On the other end of the line is corrupt cop Sullivan (Matt Damon) — the yin to Costigan's yang. While Costigan's role is to infiltrate one of Boston's most prominent criminal gangs, Sullivan's origin rests in the heart of that very same group. Sullivan knows that whoever picks up the call is the infiltrator.Neither speaks. Time stands still. The tension is astonishingly tangible; DiCaprio and Damon both sell the scene with magnificent performances, worthy of actors.
The themes of forgiveness, misplaced trust, betrayal, and greed are all present here, and the film's emotional resonance is just as strong.
"The Departed" is a ferociously entertaining film.
