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He has made good musicals (New York, New York), surreal comedies (After Hours), satires (The King of Comedy) and biopics (The Aviator), but Martin Scorsese has never done better than the times he's dealt with life on the streets and gangsters. Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Casino (and, to some degree, Taxi Driver) are proof of that. It doesn't seem strange, then, that his finest film in over a decade (Goodfellas was released in 1990) sees him return to that familiar ground. With a few changes.
The Departed, based on Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs (2002), is Scorsese's first gangster film not to feature Italian-American criminals. In fact, this film is set in Boston, where the Irish rule. One of these "godfathers" is Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), the man the State Police want the most. After years of investigation, they're finally getting close, thanks to undercover agent Billy Costigan (Leonardo Di Caprio). Because of his family (all Irish, all bad), becoming a member of Costello's crew isn't that difficult. Now all Costigan has to do is report to his superiors, Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Dignam (Mark Wahlberg), who will pass on the information to Ellerby's (Alec Baldwin) Special Investigations Unit. What they don't know is that Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), the most promising element of said unit, has been on Costello's payroll since he was 12. Soon enough, both cops and crooks become aware of the situation, beginning a manhunt that's gonna make the already fragile Billy even more nervous and Costello increasingly crazier.
By moving from Hong Kong to Boston, Scorsese and screenwriter William Monahan have made the first step in ensuring this film will be quite different from its Chinese inspiration. Another significant factor is the running time: a mere 97 minutes for Infernal Affairs, 150 for The Departed. This is due to new characters (Dignam and Costello's henchman Mr French, played by Ray Winstone, were missing in the original) and subplots, such as the one concerning Madolyn (Vera Farmiga), a psychiatrist who gets emotionally involved with both of the moles. But the most crucial difference is in the depiction of the underworld: whereas IA was stylish without being excessive, Scorsese's vision comprises very colorful language (some insults are so creative one might expect Joe Pesci to show up) and, of course, buckets of blood, the last part of the movie proving to be particularly shocking. None of the scenes ever reach the gross-out level of Casino's head-in-the-vice scene, but in pure Scorsese tradition it remains unflinchingly violent (also notable is the music, perfectly setting the mood, scene after scene, alongside Thelma Schoonmaker's impeccable editing).
Amidst these brutal surroundings, the director handles a spot-on cast: Baldwin, Sheen and Wahlberg (the latter finally back on form) make good use of their little screen time, Damon fine-tunes the edgier side he showed in The Talented Mr Ripley and the Bourne movies, and Nicholson, playing the villain again at last, delivers another OTT but classy turn (original choice Robert De Niro would probably have played the part with more calm and subtlety). A special mention is needed for Di Caprio: working with Scorsese for the third consecutive time, he has finally found a way to shake off his Titanic image, thanks to a vulnerable, gripping (and arguably career-best) performance.
With its clever plot, excellent acting and expert direction, The Departed is without doubt the year's best film so far. If this really is going to be his last gangster film (he has said so), as well as his last studio-endorsed picture, Scorsese can be proud, given the masterpiece he has given us.
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A very enjoyable, 5-star film adapted from its equally good, lesser known Hongkong-made original.
Rewatching this award-winning film 11 years later is still every bit as enjoyable as when I first saw it in cinema in 2006. However the experience I had might be different to many American audiences for I watched and loved its original 4 years before The Departed was made. The Departed is an adaptation from a Hongkong made original film, Infernal Affairs. The storyline, plot twists, characters and in some cases dialogues and scenes were extremely similar between the two films, with the exception of a few changes in The Departed towards the very end of the film - In the original, there were two different endings: Mainland China version ended with the arrest of the "police mole" (the girlfriend reported on him), while in the Hongkong version his true identity remained unrevealed and he continued in the police force after fabricating the report for the incident shown in the elevator scene, however the last scenes showed that he had a constant suffering from a great internal struggle of a confused identity. I have to say I enjoyed both films equally. The Departed is on a darker, bloodier side with more quick-paced action and realism while the Infernal Affair continued some traditions of Hongkong police-triad themed and melodramatic storytelling. The Infernal Affairs' Chinese title, directly translated to "The Never-Ending Paths", refers to the lowest level of hell in Buddhism belief where one is trapped in eternal suffering. However despite the many use of distorted shots of Buddha statues in The Infernal Affairs to echo this theme, I did find the internal struggles of the two main characters weren't portrayed as much or as well as in its later adaptation The Departed. The use of Buddhism motifs, however, did lifted the Infernal Affairs a little above eye-level and as an audience one may in some cases feel empathetic to the sufferings of the characters from another perspective. It is interesting to me to think that many Hongkong and Mainland China's directors were influenced by Martin Scorsese over the past decades, who in turn won his Oscar with this adaptation. I am happy a film of this quality came out of this symbiosis relationship.
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CarloReviewed in Italy on May 6, 2019
Cast + Regia + Colonna Sonora = Top
Non recensisco la trama del film, vista la fama che ha e anche perché l'ho acquistato per inserirlo nei miei preferiti di Leonardo DiCaprio. Un cast eccellente, con DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg e Martin Sheen. Il tutto arricchito dalla regia del grande Martin Scorsese. Di fatto il film ha vinto l'Oscar per miglior regia, miglior film, miglior montaggio e sceneggiatura non originale. Un gran bel film. Per quanto riguarda il venditore, ha eseguito la spedizione in totale tranquillità e normalità, rispettando le tempistiche. Il resto è OKCarloCast + Regia + Colonna Sonora = Top
Reviewed in Italy on May 6, 2019
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Gilbert FaesReviewed in Belgium on June 1, 2024
Aankoop Infiltrados ( The Departed ) Blu-ray
