The Departed reviews
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Finally caught up with this film yesterday (figured it was never too late to start catching the Oscar films of the year). I found it pretty invigorating. I am a huge fan of Infernal Affairs, so entered the film with a lot of trepidation. The problem I foresaw in the remake was that Infernal Affairs is so tight and perfectly constructed, but it is also such a product of it's Asian roots, and so tightely tied to Hong Kong politics, that I couldn't see doing an Americanization of the film.
What Scorsese and Monahan do, however, is find a very American theme in the movie, and morphing the story to fit into our place and time. I think it is a more satisfying movie thematically than GoodFellas or Taxi Driver (at least for me), and the script does a fantastic job of using the plot devices of the original film and then branching off of them to mine new territory the previous movie didn't. It didn't seem like an American remake as much as it did a retelling and reimagining, much in the way that a new stage production of a Shakespeare play might be. This is how remakes should be done.
To me, however, the biggest fault in the film lies in the performances of Jack Nicholson, and to a lesser extent Leonardo DiCaprio. Nicholson borders of charicature too much, where I couldn't help but wonder what DeNiro could have done with this role. DiCaprio does a fine job, but I don't get the Oscar buzz for him for this film. Like Ray Liotta in GoodFellas, you have to wonder what a higher quality actor could have done to invest you even deeper into this film, instead of distancing me from the film some. The standout in this film, I feel, is the underrated Matt Damon. He finds such incredible nuance and pain that DiCaprio fails to find in the film, after seeing this and Good Shepherd in one week, it is proof that he is one of our most interesting and bravest movie stars out there today. Mark Wahlberg is also deserving of his GG nomination, and Alec Baldwin and Ray Winstone are fantastic in what could have been thankless supporting roles. All in all, I think it is Scorsese's most successful film since The Age of Innocence.
What Scorsese and Monahan do, however, is find a very American theme in the movie, and morphing the story to fit into our place and time. I think it is a more satisfying movie thematically than GoodFellas or Taxi Driver (at least for me), and the script does a fantastic job of using the plot devices of the original film and then branching off of them to mine new territory the previous movie didn't. It didn't seem like an American remake as much as it did a retelling and reimagining, much in the way that a new stage production of a Shakespeare play might be. This is how remakes should be done.
To me, however, the biggest fault in the film lies in the performances of Jack Nicholson, and to a lesser extent Leonardo DiCaprio. Nicholson borders of charicature too much, where I couldn't help but wonder what DeNiro could have done with this role. DiCaprio does a fine job, but I don't get the Oscar buzz for him for this film. Like Ray Liotta in GoodFellas, you have to wonder what a higher quality actor could have done to invest you even deeper into this film, instead of distancing me from the film some. The standout in this film, I feel, is the underrated Matt Damon. He finds such incredible nuance and pain that DiCaprio fails to find in the film, after seeing this and Good Shepherd in one week, it is proof that he is one of our most interesting and bravest movie stars out there today. Mark Wahlberg is also deserving of his GG nomination, and Alec Baldwin and Ray Winstone are fantastic in what could have been thankless supporting roles. All in all, I think it is Scorsese's most successful film since The Age of Innocence.
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Finally, I had the opportunity to see this film. IMO Scorsese returns to his best and builds an impressive and compact film brilliantly narrated. I found some scenes that recalled me Michael Mann´s style. (Heat). The cast was terrific with an enchanting Nicholson followed by Di Caprio in a memorable performance. I want to emphasize the works of Ray Winstone and Mark Wahlberg among the support cast.
It means the time for uncle Marty to get his Oscar.
It means the time for uncle Marty to get his Oscar.
Alec Baldwin for best supporting actor. From MacLean's( Canada's national mag)
" Whether he's telling his assistant to book a 4AM tee time or informing Tina Fey's character that her shoes are "definitely bi-curious", Alec Baldwin( 30Rock) has become a larger-than-life on-screen presence. No one does charming, oblivious ego like he does. And he's finally getting the credit he deserves--on the TV show and in The Departed, where he bests other showy performers, including Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg."
I would love to see Nicholson "bested".
" Whether he's telling his assistant to book a 4AM tee time or informing Tina Fey's character that her shoes are "definitely bi-curious", Alec Baldwin( 30Rock) has become a larger-than-life on-screen presence. No one does charming, oblivious ego like he does. And he's finally getting the credit he deserves--on the TV show and in The Departed, where he bests other showy performers, including Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg."
I would love to see Nicholson "bested".
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Do not avoid. Not by any means. It doesn't all work, but I agree with Damien, the heights The Black Dahlia strives for (and almost achieves) are much more interesting to me than the narrative and stylistic competence of so many other films that mostly work, but fail to reach for anything greater (and I think I would include The Departed, though clearly more than just competent, in that group.)Sabin wrote:'The Black Dahlia' - good or bad - remains my most glaring blind spot of the year thus far. Friends of mine have told me to avoid it like AIDS.
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Actually Martin Sheen had two rich screen roles early in his career in The Incident in which he played the innocent victim of subway violence and The Subject Was Roses in which he reprised his Broadway triumph, both years before Badlands.
His truly great roles, though, have been in TV movies and mini-series such as That Certain Summer, Catholics, The Execution of Private Slovick , The Missiles of October (as Bobby Kennedy) and Consenting Adult, all long before The West Wing. His role in The Departed in his richest big screen role since Apocalyse Now more than a quarter century ago.
His truly great roles, though, have been in TV movies and mini-series such as That Certain Summer, Catholics, The Execution of Private Slovick , The Missiles of October (as Bobby Kennedy) and Consenting Adult, all long before The West Wing. His role in The Departed in his richest big screen role since Apocalyse Now more than a quarter century ago.
I just caught up with "The Departed," Although this may not quite be Scorsese’s best film – I would give that distinction to “Last Temptation of Christ” – it is probably his most cohesive.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Scorsese, and think he’s one of the more over-rated film figures of the last 25 years. But the man is undeniably talented, and is very skilled with big set pieces and big moments. The main problem with his films has been a meandering quality, so that the narrative thrusts rarely come together, the movies never coalescing into a uniform whole. But in The Departed, Scorsese for once has a terrific and very well-structured and distinctive screenplay, one that is very detailed and structurally precise so that the director was essentially forced to adhere to it (I haven’t seen “Infernal Affairs” so I can’t weigh in one whether writer William Monahan improved on the original or even what liberties he took and changes he made.)
The film is terrifically entertaining – it’s as if freed from the burden of striving to make an “important” (i.e. Oscar contending) film, Scorsese was able to let loose and create a movie that has 10 times the energy and excitement and, yes, depth of “The Aviator” and “Age of Innocence” and “Kundun” and “Gangs of New York..” Much of the film is enjoyably tense as hell, and, in typical Scorsese fashion, the picture makes great use of a wide range of old songs (I was especially delighted to hear the great 1966 salsa cross-over hit “Bang Bang” by the Joe Cuba Sextet.). DiCaprio and Damon are both wonderful: DiCaprio’s innocent persona and guileless acting style just the right fit for his character, whose double life evolved from a raging id and who is carried along by circumstances out of his control, while Damon’s more self-aware emoting is perfect for a man whose deception is very calculated and determined. My favorite performance is Mark Wahlberg’s; he is simultaneously funny, scary, exasperating and lovable, a real Southie. Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen (has he ever had such a rich screen role before?) are also pitch perfect. But then there’s Jack Nicholson. Nicholson seems to think he’s back in “The Witches Of Eastwick.” I would say this is a completely miscalculated performance. He’s irritating rather than the frightening, threatening figure he should be, and if his many over-the-top moments were attempts to be humorous, they simply fall flat, as well as being completely out of step with everything else in the movie. Moreover, why does a man who lives in a state-of-the-art apartment and loves the Good Life dress and groom like a bum?
I agree with Tee that the film could have been cut down some (another Scorsese shortcoming) – once all the narrative elements are in place at about the last 45 minutes, things get a bit tedious and repetitious. This was also a movie for which I would have preferred an old-fashioned happy ending rather than its heavy doses of cynicism and nihilsm at the end -- an archetypical Catholic Guilt martyr figure, DiCaprio’s character really should have been allowed to find a blissful redemption.
As much as I liked “The Departed” I have to say I felt it fell short of the season’s other angst-infused crime melodrama. For me, “The Black Dahlia” had much deeper wells of emotion than “The Departed,” and by risking to be (and occasionally becoming) absurd at times, De Palma’s film was much more intriguing and thought-provoking and affecting than Scorsese’s more standard genre piece. As is especially epitomized in the action sequences, “The Black Dahlia” is poetry, “The Departed” prose. And the torment Josh Hartnett experienced seemed much deeper and multi-layered than DiCaprio’s, Scarlett Johansson and Hillary Swank hugely more interesting female characters than Vera Fermiga, the inter-action between characters richer and more surprising. And what is very telling is that Scorsese actually has a brief scene at an opera to bring an operatic sense of excess to the proceedings; De Palma (who, I would argue, has always been a much more interesting and accomplished filmmaker than Scorsese) is able to convey the overwrought, larger-than-life emotions of an opera through his visual style, his handling of the actors and his ability to create mood and atmosphere.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Scorsese, and think he’s one of the more over-rated film figures of the last 25 years. But the man is undeniably talented, and is very skilled with big set pieces and big moments. The main problem with his films has been a meandering quality, so that the narrative thrusts rarely come together, the movies never coalescing into a uniform whole. But in The Departed, Scorsese for once has a terrific and very well-structured and distinctive screenplay, one that is very detailed and structurally precise so that the director was essentially forced to adhere to it (I haven’t seen “Infernal Affairs” so I can’t weigh in one whether writer William Monahan improved on the original or even what liberties he took and changes he made.)
The film is terrifically entertaining – it’s as if freed from the burden of striving to make an “important” (i.e. Oscar contending) film, Scorsese was able to let loose and create a movie that has 10 times the energy and excitement and, yes, depth of “The Aviator” and “Age of Innocence” and “Kundun” and “Gangs of New York..” Much of the film is enjoyably tense as hell, and, in typical Scorsese fashion, the picture makes great use of a wide range of old songs (I was especially delighted to hear the great 1966 salsa cross-over hit “Bang Bang” by the Joe Cuba Sextet.). DiCaprio and Damon are both wonderful: DiCaprio’s innocent persona and guileless acting style just the right fit for his character, whose double life evolved from a raging id and who is carried along by circumstances out of his control, while Damon’s more self-aware emoting is perfect for a man whose deception is very calculated and determined. My favorite performance is Mark Wahlberg’s; he is simultaneously funny, scary, exasperating and lovable, a real Southie. Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen (has he ever had such a rich screen role before?) are also pitch perfect. But then there’s Jack Nicholson. Nicholson seems to think he’s back in “The Witches Of Eastwick.” I would say this is a completely miscalculated performance. He’s irritating rather than the frightening, threatening figure he should be, and if his many over-the-top moments were attempts to be humorous, they simply fall flat, as well as being completely out of step with everything else in the movie. Moreover, why does a man who lives in a state-of-the-art apartment and loves the Good Life dress and groom like a bum?
I agree with Tee that the film could have been cut down some (another Scorsese shortcoming) – once all the narrative elements are in place at about the last 45 minutes, things get a bit tedious and repetitious. This was also a movie for which I would have preferred an old-fashioned happy ending rather than its heavy doses of cynicism and nihilsm at the end -- an archetypical Catholic Guilt martyr figure, DiCaprio’s character really should have been allowed to find a blissful redemption.
As much as I liked “The Departed” I have to say I felt it fell short of the season’s other angst-infused crime melodrama. For me, “The Black Dahlia” had much deeper wells of emotion than “The Departed,” and by risking to be (and occasionally becoming) absurd at times, De Palma’s film was much more intriguing and thought-provoking and affecting than Scorsese’s more standard genre piece. As is especially epitomized in the action sequences, “The Black Dahlia” is poetry, “The Departed” prose. And the torment Josh Hartnett experienced seemed much deeper and multi-layered than DiCaprio’s, Scarlett Johansson and Hillary Swank hugely more interesting female characters than Vera Fermiga, the inter-action between characters richer and more surprising. And what is very telling is that Scorsese actually has a brief scene at an opera to bring an operatic sense of excess to the proceedings; De Palma (who, I would argue, has always been a much more interesting and accomplished filmmaker than Scorsese) is able to convey the overwrought, larger-than-life emotions of an opera through his visual style, his handling of the actors and his ability to create mood and atmosphere.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
I agree that Smith as a director is ungainly and well, quite awful. But yes Damon gave the best performance and I thought Fiorentino and Rickman were quite good in their charismatic, droll way. I wish Smith had found more than a cameo for Garafolo though.
As a writer he's better, but Smith is still very petulant and tries to hide his fratboy impulses under his warm liberalism. Chasing Amy had the most promise but still managed to limit itself to a straight man's idealization of what it means to be a sexually othered or sexually ambiguous person (not to mention Smith's own fantasy as well). Amy is still subjected to - and reduced by - the male gaze and the film becomes flaccid for me as a result. Dogma is problematic but at least it was ambitious and for all its polemics (a pale imitation of the kind of rigorous work Tony Kushner does with Angels in America) I thought it was funnier and more engaging than anything else Smith has ever done.
As a writer he's better, but Smith is still very petulant and tries to hide his fratboy impulses under his warm liberalism. Chasing Amy had the most promise but still managed to limit itself to a straight man's idealization of what it means to be a sexually othered or sexually ambiguous person (not to mention Smith's own fantasy as well). Amy is still subjected to - and reduced by - the male gaze and the film becomes flaccid for me as a result. Dogma is problematic but at least it was ambitious and for all its polemics (a pale imitation of the kind of rigorous work Tony Kushner does with Angels in America) I thought it was funnier and more engaging than anything else Smith has ever done.
I have a lot of affection for 'Dogma' but its reach is far beyond Smith's directing capabilities, and at least half of the performances in the film are truly horrible. But not Damon's. He's a hoot. I haven't seen 'All the Pretty Horses' or 'Legend of Bagger Vance' (no real desire to, for either one), but outside of those I haven't really heard of any performance he's given or role he's taken that could appear misguided. He's one of the smartest movie stars we've got.
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He was also in Chasing Amy... a little. (I actually don't care for Dogma.)
I despised Oceans 13 except for him. I thought he gave a wonderful, self-effacing comic performance.
Ralph Fiennes is another one who often picks interesting, challenging films (and I think he's an even better actor). But I checked his filmmography... too many duds among the good stuff.
I despised Oceans 13 except for him. I thought he gave a wonderful, self-effacing comic performance.
Ralph Fiennes is another one who often picks interesting, challenging films (and I think he's an even better actor). But I checked his filmmography... too many duds among the good stuff.
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Are you talking about Dogma? If so, I agree. It's pretty much the only Kevin Smith film I like.Sonic Youth wrote:That's an understatement. I can't think of another actor, young or old, who has made as many smart, interesting choices in projects in the past ten years as Damon has. Even his money-making franchise has garnered respect. Even the Kevin Smith movies ended up being decent.
And I think he's a pretty terrific actor, too.
Anyway, I completely agree with you about Damon. He seems to be getting the least amount of praise (or most derision) from internet fans regarding this movie and maybe that's because he downplays the role for most of the film. But I found his performance riveting. Between this, Ripley, Will Hunting and even The Bourne Identity, Damon seems drawn to these anti-social characters who occupy a slightly higher intellectual plane than the characters around them. I find it fascinating that he is constantly drawn to this type and still manages to imbue each performance with something new. He is indeed a terrfic actor.
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SPOILERS DISCUSSED.
See, I can't accept all those contrivances. What a coincidence that the upstairs cop was DiCaprio's old school buddy, and the downstairs cop was a second mole (that Damon didn't even know about). I find it more plausible that the ground floor cop was instructed by someone in Costello's mob to watch Damon's back. But who knows?
That one I had no problem with. The Departed is already a pretty long movie, and was probably VERY long before post-production. You gotta lose some of those expository scenes.
Lots of people here seem to have quibbles with the final sequences, but I can only conclude that one of the reasons it's getting good word-of-mouth (and repeat business) is that movie-goers are spending time discussing exactly what happened, trying to make the connections between the events they saw and what the reasons were behind them. Scorsese's filmmaking is so dynamic, and the plot is like a puzzle, so by the end audiences have built enough faith in the movie to try to figure out the final scenes rather than dismiss it outright. The movie wouldn't be getting this box office if the ending was truly off-putting.
That's an understatement. I can't think of another actor, young or old, who has made as many smart, interesting choices in projects in the past ten years as Damon has. Even his money-making franchise has garnered respect. Even the Kevin Smith movies ended up being decent.
And I think he's a pretty terrific actor, too.
Reverse the equation. The film isn't a big hit because Scorsese tempered his personality. Audiences are excited because Scorsese APPLIED his personality to a plot-driven, mainstream cop-and-gangster film.
Most mainstream genre films don't have the sustained box office The Departed is celebrating. Usually it's one good weekend, and that's it. And Scorsese is the big reason why.
I'm trying to be objective here. None of this takes away from the fact that I was disappointed with The Departed, and it's BECAUSE it's a Scorsese film. Very unfair of me, I know. If this were made by a younger director like Doug Liman, I'd be over the moon.
Mister Tee wrote:Sonic, to answer your plot question, I thought Damon had, against his agreement with DiCaprio, brought along a crew for back-up -- Anderson right behind him, the other guy on the ground floor.
See, I can't accept all those contrivances. What a coincidence that the upstairs cop was DiCaprio's old school buddy, and the downstairs cop was a second mole (that Damon didn't even know about). I find it more plausible that the ground floor cop was instructed by someone in Costello's mob to watch Damon's back. But who knows?
My anal-structuralist question would be, if you give a character a letter and specify it should be opened upon a death, isn't it required that we see said letter being opened? (Though maybe they felt that , having given Farmiga the Third Man exit scene, any return to her would be anti-climactic).
That one I had no problem with. The Departed is already a pretty long movie, and was probably VERY long before post-production. You gotta lose some of those expository scenes.
Lots of people here seem to have quibbles with the final sequences, but I can only conclude that one of the reasons it's getting good word-of-mouth (and repeat business) is that movie-goers are spending time discussing exactly what happened, trying to make the connections between the events they saw and what the reasons were behind them. Scorsese's filmmaking is so dynamic, and the plot is like a puzzle, so by the end audiences have built enough faith in the movie to try to figure out the final scenes rather than dismiss it outright. The movie wouldn't be getting this box office if the ending was truly off-putting.
Damon's a bright guy, with the good taste to get involved in intelligent projects,
That's an understatement. I can't think of another actor, young or old, who has made as many smart, interesting choices in projects in the past ten years as Damon has. Even his money-making franchise has garnered respect. Even the Kevin Smith movies ended up being decent.
And I think he's a pretty terrific actor, too.
The general effect is of an old-time Scorsese movie, just house-broken this time around. This has undoubtedly made the film more commercially palatable
Reverse the equation. The film isn't a big hit because Scorsese tempered his personality. Audiences are excited because Scorsese APPLIED his personality to a plot-driven, mainstream cop-and-gangster film.
Most mainstream genre films don't have the sustained box office The Departed is celebrating. Usually it's one good weekend, and that's it. And Scorsese is the big reason why.
I'm trying to be objective here. None of this takes away from the fact that I was disappointed with The Departed, and it's BECAUSE it's a Scorsese film. Very unfair of me, I know. If this were made by a younger director like Doug Liman, I'd be over the moon.
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Win Butler
Win Butler