Decision ‘08

The Departed: The Decision ‘08 Review

Is there any doubt about the finest living director? Woody Allen has his moments, but he’s really a one-trick pony (granted, it’s a good trick), and Peter Jackson was born to do Lord of the Rings, but that’s a bit of ‘right man for the right moment’. If you go back to Mean Streets, and fast forward to The Departed, though, you have a body of work that is a monument to just how good popular culture can be.

Martin Scorsese is rarely intellectual, yet he doesn’t insult the intellect. He is a director who understands character, and story, and the great Scorcese moments all revolve around iconic actors playing iconic roles: De Niro’s Travis Bickle and Jake LaMotta, Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito, Daniel Day Lewis’s Bill The Butcher…we start out dazzled by the amazing camera work and outstanding editing, but we stay because we care about the story and we want to see what happens to these larger-than-life characters. Indeed, Scorsese’s whole world is larger than life, and the music and visuals serve the effect of grandeur, even in squalor.

There’s plenty of all of the above in this movie: there’s squalor, brutal violence, grand entertainment, more big-time actors than you can shake a stick at, and there’s plenty of folks dying. Quentin Tarantino, who has made a career out of trying to out-Scorsese Scorsese, is out-Tarantino’d here by his inspiration.

Based on the Hong Kong classic Infernal Affairs, The Departed is a police procedural/ganster movie/love triangle that could very, very easily fall apart in lesser hands. The storyline is a bit too twisty and turny, and the early parts of the movie are more than a little confusing. The movie is propelled along on the wings of a fine group of actors chewing the scenery in grand fashion, and Scorsese’s undeniable mastery of the craft. This movie is not the second coming of Goodfellas; it’s hard to imagine that masterpiece ever being thrown from its rightful spot on the top of the heap. It is, though, a good flick, and I mean that to be high praise, indeed. Even higher praise:

This will be the fastest 2 1/2 hours you ever spend at the movies. I want to see it again already…

5 Responses to “The Departed: The Decision ‘08 Review”

1 Fargus Says:
October 6th, 2006 at 11:03 pm
I’ve got to throw some unmentioned love to The Last Temptation of Christ, and some well-deserved scorn to Bringing Out the Dead. I’ve got to watch Taxi Driver and Raging Bull again now that I’m older and more appreciative of film (I didn’t like them when I saw them, but I was young, I swear!).

And for my money, though The Aviator was quite good, my major gripes with it were these: Despite DiCaprio’s deservedly Oscar-nominated performance, he just looked too young throughout the whole picture; and more than anything, it didn’t feel like a Scorcese film. It didn’t have that edge, you know?

But I saw a preview for The Departed tonight at Jackass 2 (don’t judge me), and it looks really good.

Side note, Mark, it looks like I might be making the trek from Jersey to Austin for New Year’s Eve.
2 Mark Says:
October 7th, 2006 at 8:18 am
Oh, no, Austin at New Year’s! Always a wild time, but with you here, it’ll tip the scales to total mayhem…have you ever been to our fair city before?…
3 Fargus Says:
October 7th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
I never have, but I’ve been reading up. Looks like it should be a good time, especially if I can convince enough buddies to tag along.
4 Decision ‘08 » Blog Archive » Oscar Notes Says:
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:05 am
[…] Of the films up for Best Picture, I liked The Departed the best (see here for my review of that one) (I’d rather it win here and give Paul Greengrass the Best Director). […]
5 Decision ‘08 » Blog Archive » Oscar Musings Says:
February 25th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
[…] UPDATE 8:55 p.m.: Alright, The Departed gets one - Best Adapted Screenplay…The Departed was my fourth favorite film of the year…and considering Casino Royale rounded out the top five, I consider that a pretty damn good year at the flicks… […]