The Departed (2006)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  7 / 10

  The Departed is Scorsese's most overrated film. Now now, before you go and comment, dislike and lambast my opinion, hear me out. This is by no means a bad film, in fact it's better than good. Yet, a ludicrous amount of film aficionados deem this as one the best films from the last decade. I'm afraid I strongly disagree. An amateur Boston cop infiltrates an American Irish gang by following the chief mobster. On the flipside, a criminal from the gang infiltrates the police department and reports the status of the investigation back to the head honcho. It's a vintage crime story that thematically conveys the power of trust. Scorsese is back to what he does best, crafting intricate mafia crime thrillers fuelled by rich character development. The arcs of the leading individuals are fully realised and are played out like a methodical game of chess. Motives are shrouded in mystery, minds are tainted by corrupted ideologies. Scorsese brings in an A-list cast comprising of Damon, DiCaprio and the ever reliable Nicholson who essentially chews up every scene like he is devouring a piece of tender chicken. Monahan's screenplay consistently brings out the gritty Boston upbringing of these characters. It's a harsh environment that lures you into this convoluted world filled with rats and tyranny. Wahlberg's sarcastic banter was a much required element to what is a tough exterior. My reasoning for not rating this excruciatingly high is the narrative structure. There are no surprises in this, it's a "thriller" that doesn't excite me. Purposefully indicating who the informants are in both parties at the beginning means a large duration of the film becomes predictably unexciting. It's only at its conclusion that it mistakingly tries to be enthralling by shooting people in the head (literally!). Lazily underwhelming, especially after 140 minutes of character development. The Boston accents also came across extremely heavily from certain actors, particularly Farmiga as she exclaims "harrrrrdest!". A well constructed crime drama that unfortunately is weighted down by a mechanical narrative.

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