The Departed

**** Stars

“Cops or Criminals. When you’re facing a loaded gun, what’s the difference?”

Martin Scorsese is a masterful storyteller who creates what he does best: a masterpiece that adds further strength to his walking stature among other film directors. If an Oscar is once again taken away from Scorsese, there is no justice in the world.

Based loosely on the 2002 Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, the story commences with a deliciously evil monologue from Frank Costello, (a brilliant Jack Nicholson, who has created a new character that will become legendary) an Irish mob boss who spends his days running the city, earning loads of cash, and destroying every life imaginable. He meets a young boy Colin Sullivan, who is convinced by Frank to later on his life join the Massachusetts State Police force and provide him with information and the first hand in every scenario he is in. Sullivan (Matt Damon at his best) is a man who will only save himself. He is the rat.

Soon after Sullivan joins the force, Bill Costigan (a perfectly cast Leonardo Dicaprio) a troubled young man who wants to do something meaningful with his life, is shot down from the academy. But instead, he is placed undercover to infiltrate Costello’s unit in which only two cops know of this: Captain Queenan (a classic Martin Sheen) and Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg in the best performance of his career). So the stage is set.

Dicaprio: Good Cop.
Damon: Bad Cop.
Nicholson: Mob Boss.
Scorsese: Director.
The Cast: Dynamite.
Execution: Breathtaking.

For a running time of over two and a half hours, The Departed is a fast paced, dazzling piece of work. Its violence, deceit, and tragedy will leave you staggered. Even with some minor flaws involving some underwritten characters, Scorsese’s brilliant mind is an example of our highest accomplishments in modern cinema. This is one of his best crime drama, ranking right with his classic Goodfellas.

Oscar or Scorsese. When you’re facing The Departed, What’s the difference?