The Departed

by Cheeto

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Posted on 29 May 2021

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Rating -

The Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs and is also loosely based on the real-life Boston Winter Hill Gang; the character Colin Sullivan is based on the corrupt FBI agent John Connolly, while the character Frank Costello is based on Irish-American gangster Whitey Bulger. The Departed stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg, with Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, and Alec Baldwin in supporting roles.

The Departed is a film where I feel like it gets some-what, unfairly over looked. Why that is? I don’t know. Maybe because ‘it’s just another gangster movie’ or it’s just another film to appeal to people who love ‘carnage candy’. Well I can tell you, this film is so much more than that. It’s a fascinating look into the gangs and corrupted police of Boston, and how they both try and get one step ahead of one-another.

You would know it’s a Scorsese film without even seeing who directed it, it has his direction and style written all over it. I love how the film focuses on two well defined factions, The Boston State Police Department, and the Costello gang, the film goes back and forth from one to the other. This film is very tense, as our mole and undercover police officer try and avoid being found out, this film will have you on the edge of your seat.

The acting in this film is absolutely amazing, this is all thanks to the casting decisions. Even though it’s a huge cast of a-listers, the film doesn’t feel bloated, it also doesn’t take away from the film. This is because I see the actors as the characters they are portraying, rather than just the actors as themselves.

The only reason why it isn’t a 5 star for me; is because there are a few better films Scorsese has done. But I urge you to watch it as it is definitely one of the 00’s best.

 

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