The Departed

The Departed feels different to other Scorsese films. I believe these are some of the best characters in any of his pictures, DiCaprio especially, but it feels much more real. These are characters whom are quite morally ambiguous, we can’t tell if we want them to succeed or not. And that’s the beauty of it. It’s a story of corruption, rats, and how the police and mob interact when they know among them there are people they can’t trust. This is elevated by an immeasurable cast, Nicholson in his only Scorsese role creates an incredibly tense performance, acting a man who feels a step ahead at all times. Damon plays a man who should be who we root for, but we build up an unbridled sense of hatred for the choices he makes, that for me, it’s only right we wish for DiCaprio’s role to succeed. I can’t say enough about how much I loved his performance, and character here. But all of this just perfectly works together to make The Departed such an amazing story. The twists, the turns, you’re on edge for the final half hour of this film as no one is assured safety, but it all works out perfectly in the end as each character more or less gets a just conclusion, whether we like it or not.