October 07, 2006

Rohit Reviews: The Departed

Given the blockbuster cast, the trailers that should make any self-respecting drugs-sex-action-violence-loving guy salivate with anticipation, and the name Martin Scorsese, The Departed might very well have been the most hyped movie in recent memory (and no, Snakes on a Plane totally doesn't count, idiots). Most movies do not live up to their hype; luckily, this one did.

It's not often that I get excited about movies anymore, but ever since seeing the first trailer for The Departed, I knew I was going to have to watch it on opening night. We went to the newly-opened Westfield Theatre in SF shopping mall (read: South Coast Plaza lite, but that's an entirely different story) and from the minute the movie started, I was engrossed. Though the movie runs nearly 3 hours, there is never enough of a lull in the story to force a despairing look at one's watch and wonder what the editor was doing when this film went to post-production (King Kong, anyone?). A lot could be said about the unforgiving plot (remade from Hong Kong's 2002 Infernal Affairs), the gritty and realistic set design, the incredulous love triangle with the (hot!) police psychologist, but ultimately, The Departed will likely be remembered for its unforgettable acting.

Every cast member, from Jack Nicholson's wonderfully evil Frank Costello to Leonardo DiCaprio's troubled Billy Costigan to Matt Damon's confident Colin Sullivan, delivers a performance unlike any other. Though all of the first rate actors deserve commendation on this movie, none is more deserving than DiCaprio, who took his acting repertoire to a new level with this movie, depicting the anger, fear, and angst of a man on the road to mental breakdown. Whether this movie will bring a long-deserved Oscar to Scorsese remains to be seen; however, one way or another, this tour de force of movie-making is unlikely to be forgotten from the lexicon of indisputable American classics any time soon—despite the unnecessarily tactless symbolism of the rat at the end.