The Departed - Movie Review

The motion picture ‘The Departed’ focuses on Billy Costigan, an undercover cop and Colin Sullivan, an informant within the police force, both aiming at outduelling each other while planted in the Irish mob fronted by Frank Costello. Finally betrayal creeps in, and the cat and mouse play begins and becomes filled with suspense and deceit up to the climax of the movie. The movie explores the darkness within the hearts and souls of each character and putting it into a question what remains of loyalty and honor? Scorsese brilliantly sets the mood of the film to conform to crime drama expectations and experiences: tense and dreadful.

The leading cast of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson provide great supporting acting force that gives depth and stability to the movie’s heavy plot. DiCaprio who plays the role of the tortured, and deeply psychological, police officer in the undercover role is believable and visceral as is Damon’s Colin Sullivan who is equally, calculating and manipulative. Nicholson plays the role of Frank Costello menacing while at the same time giving many dimensions to a criminal mastermind. The rest of the cast, particularly Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen, add tangible layers to the picture and real firepower.

Violence and drama = Martin Scorsese – the director of this magnificent film. Mention should be made about appropriately chosen settings by Scorsese and ability to create suspense evident in each shot, which enriches the given story and makes it constantly intense and suspenseful. The management of multiple character arcs is done effectively by him contributing complexity and depth to the plot.

The choice of rock and classical music in ‘The Departed’ is fantastic, and increases the dramatic feel of the motion picture. Despite the musical numbers, Chayefsky’s min-arc and depictions of psychology are well served by five time Grammy and three time Oscar winner Elton John as does Scorsese’s tradition of deep immersion of music into the film narrative.

The cinematography in ‘The Departed is good by Michael Ballhaus that capture the exact feeling of a tense gangster thriller. First of all, the presence of shadows and contrasting works well to enhance film theme for ‘The Departed’; Secondly, the locations chosen, particularly, Boston give a realistic feel for the movie, yet stylistically enhance the movie’s set. The concern for detail is not just applied to the storytelling of the film’s atmospheres but also to the thematic oppositions and lies that define the movie’s look as much as its characters.

It can be said that special effects for ‘The Departed’ are very well applied, natural and not overdoing it as to overwhelm the plot or actors. The visuals in ‘The Departed’ are rather subtle yet memorable, which is needed to emphasize on the plot and the characters.

The editing work in ‘The Departed’ is well coordinated and maintains a good tempo throughout the movie as brought by Thelma Schoonmaker. The telling is through parallel sequences of events; and never a dull moment as the director accelerates the action at a pace that is neither rushed nor slow. The biggest impact of the editing is to keep the suspense up till the very last scene; and that is why this is a thrill ride from start to finish. The pacing adds to the underlying tension and threats in the plot because scenes are well developed to increase gradually the stakes and provide a constant feeling of disaster looming.

The script of ‘The Departed’ by William Monahan is full of broken sharp words, intense and quite wittily ironic at some point. The dialogues between characters are not only used to unveil their secret desire and intentions but also to develop more layers of the story. The dialog is one of the main features that contribute to the creation of suspense in the film.

Despite this, one may think that the movie is heavy for the audience as it has a very dense plot and a great number of characters in the plot of ‘The Departed’. A key feature of the film’s structure is threading together of numerous plots that unfold simultaneously, which requires the viewer to be attentive. Still, it is at this complexity that the film shines; the movie is enriched and layered, carrying a heft that is often missing from other films of the genre for those willing to pay attention. This alone makes the boys rich: the theatricality of the film touching upon the concepts of loyalty and betrayal reminds of itself time and again, long after the spectator returns to hisher normal life.