Antoine T
The best movie I've seen in a while. Perfect cast, great acting, outstanding story progression, very few plot holes, and firework ending. I just wish Dignam had come back earlier... Even the sex scene is respectful and does not feel out of place. I'll rewatch once I recover from the traumatic ending.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
05/16/24
Full Review
Audience Member
This is my favorite Leonardo DiCaprio movie. The plot is gripping and the cast is all-around incredible.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
05/08/24
Full Review
Gabriel S
The Departed (from 2006) is ironically Martin Scorsese's only personal Oscar win; ironically because we all know Mr. Scorsese's work, right? I mean, we are talking about the Director that, by when this movie came out, drove Tavi Driver (1976), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), Gangs of New York (2002), and The Aviator (2004). And, yet, The Departed is the only work to this point, 2024, that got him an Oscar.
Now, is The Departed such a masterpiece? I assume you are reading this review to figure this out, so let's dig deeper.
The story of The Departed follows two rats on different sides of the rat spectrum trying to identify each other. Rat number 1 is Colin Sullivan (by Matt Damon), an investigator of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), while rat #2 is Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), a gangster working for an Irish gang under Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson).
Colin Sullivan is the protagonist here, yup, you heard me right. I'm sorry, fans of DiCaprio, but the story starts on Colin's perspective and ends on Colin's perspective, so, at a technical storytelling point of view, Colin is the protagonist, the one with most to lose. He not only starts low in life, but he also sees Frank Costello, the one that SIU wants to arrest, as a caring father.
Now, that being said, the story does not explore Colin in greater detail. In fact, I feel like Colin's motives are shaded by the simpler fact that he is just trying to find the rat on his mob family, but we do get glimpses of his inner demons, which might make us wonder if Colin is really enjoying his undercover life. A shame, though, that the story leaves some questions dangling in the air.
Some flat-Earthists might say that Billy Costigan is the real protagonist here, a blatant statement. Well, think of this: Billy has pretty much nothing to lose anymore, so what's there for him other than just follow the flow? I guess the misconception that Billy is the real protag here is that he gets a lot of screentime; hell, I could bet that he gets even more screentime than Matt? — I wonder if someone made the Math.
Billy Costigan is trying to escape his past, but past seems unavoidable when he accepts the offer to go undercover to get some evidences to frame Frank Costello. He is trying to do the right thing, but that gets blurry when your job is to pretend that you are a criminal.
DiCaprio is the show-stealer in this movie, a great performance. He sets Billy as this one good man that just can't avoid the mud that his family seems to be in, and you see this every time DiCaprio is on scene. Billy is on the verge of insanity, and DiCaprio portraits that right.
Supporting characters are great overall. Jack Nicholson is Frank Costello, an Irish mobster that's pretty much a comedian, not sure why.
Then we have Mark Wahlberg as Sargent Dignan, a truly missed opportunity here, indeed. Dignan is such an underused character that it's a shame.
Captain Queenan might fall into the same category because we don't know his connections with his team undercover to the point where we understand how emotionally attached he is.
Plotwise, you get your fair share of a crime thriller. We follow both Colin and Billy while they climb their ranks, keep their identities, and try to identify each other. Colin struggling to get ahead of the investigation; Billy trying not to get too dirty, too deep. One thinks he's got everything under control, while the other is going rock bottom. To shake it up, add a love interest, of course. Although the runtime is lengthy, you want more, you want to get to the bottom of this.
Not sure if a vision of Scorsese, but we get some good symbolisms throughout the movie too, some that have deep connections to events, others that are just lingering. Rats are a heavy theme here, the idea of ratting out someone, and even the poor animal itself. There are hints of being impotent, while others seem to not be that impotent.
And then there's this one lecture about headshots. Awesome foreshadowing.
Overall, The Departed is a solid crime thriller that pleases. I'm not sure if it is Scorsese's best work, but this movie is definitely a great piece. I recommend this movie for people that like thrillers and crime dramas.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
04/29/24
Full Review
Howard H
Watch able many times. Great soundtrack, story and character development.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
04/15/24
Full Review
Jeff L
The Departed (2006) is among the most wildly overrated films of all time. The film is all atmospheric tension (quick pacing, framing, camera angles, lighting, and scoring), and overacting. These qualities are well executed, but make the film seem much better than it is. The plot and writing are terrible. The storyline is incongruous, with rushed and under developed plot points, and illogical, inconsistent, and incredulous character motives. The story lacks steady progression, and has to make huge leaps to maintain its intended story arc. It would have been so much better as a 5 part limited series in which the story had time and sufficient scenes to justify the final act. It relies on atmospherics to mask its story's deficiencies. Wildly overrated.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
04/12/24
Full Review
Brian D
93%. Probably 4th watch and remembered the ending well so probably would have given a higher rating after the first watch and being in shock at the last 25 minutes of the film. Leo is great in his role, as well as Damon as the prick cop. The story got to be a bit much with even Nicholson's character being an FBI informant, but exciting overall. Greaet cast. 5/5 rewatch
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
04/09/24
Full Review
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