Reviewing Movies

The Departed reminds me of a Shakespearean play in which no one is actually what he seems; and to continue the analogy in this movie the line between good guys and bad guys is blurred and it ends in piles and cross-piles of bodies to equal one of the Bard's tragedies.

One of the more apt quotes from the movie has Frank Costello say:

"When I was your age they used to say you could become cops or criminals. What I'm saying to you is this... When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?"

And in The Departed we are hard-pressed to find that difference. This is one movie that benefits from multiple viewings.

The Departed is long on talent. Jack Nicholson does more acting with his eyebrows in one scene than many other actors do in an entire feature-length movie. The hunk factor is ramped up by the inclusion of Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, and a Leonardo DiCaprio who's spent some time with a personal trainer. The testosterone factor rarely dips nor does the tension or underlying menace. Either I've watched too many violent movies or Scorsese concentrates more on character here than the violence that ensues. There are virtually no chase scenes in this movie for example.

This is one movie that romanticizes neither the gangsters nor the law enforcers.