"Knight Thoughts" -- exclusive web content
Now this is great acting: there's not a false acting note in Scorsese's latest addition to the mob movie canon
Battle of the Acting Titans:
The Departed
10-13-06 "Knight Thoughts" web exclusive
By Richard Knight, Jr.
IN HONOR OF THE FILM'S RETURN TO THEATRES AFTER IT'S OSCAR NOMINATIONS, HERE'S MY ORIGINAL REVIEW OF THE FILM

In this corner we have Jack Nicholson, so delighted with his role of the dreadful, deadly Irish Mafia boss that he practically levitates in
his scenes and in this corner we have Leo DiCaprio, so intense and wound up that he nearly self-combusts.  The battle of these two
acting titans is the primary pleasure of
The Departed, the movie that is being hailed as director Martin Scorsese's return to form.  
I thought
The Aviator, Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic signaled the great director's return to greatness (and it should have won him
Best Director -- shame on you Academy for rewarding Clint Eastwood's treacly, punishing
Million Dollar Baby).  But that’s not to say
that
The Departed finds Scorsese slouching – far from it.  It’s yet another example of the director’s fascination with the criminal
element.  Brutal and drenched in blood with a body count that rivals any
Friday the 13th picture (take your pick) though it is, The
Departed
is nevertheless a terrifically entertaining picture – albeit a tough, raw one.  For Scorsese those mean streets are still very
much alive.

The story focuses on the two warring factions of law enforcement versus the Irish mob in Boston.  Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg
(especially fine in a tough talking performance) send DiCaprio undercover in an effort to finally get the goods on Frank Costello, the
crime boss played by Nicholson.  Costello wears purple shirts, lounges in a leopard robe, listens to opera and has an affection for
Patsy Cline’s “Sweet Dreams.”  But these attempts at “class” are matched by a dreadful vulgarity and monstrous behavior.  Costello
thinks nothing of pulling the trigger when crossed himself.  He’s cagey and street smart beneath the phony veneer and has planted
a rat of his own on the police force.  This is Matt Damon whose golden boy good looks have helped him to quickly rise within the
ranks.  But he hasn’t forgotten why he’s there and he’s loyal to Costello and time and again stymies any attempt to go after him.  
After awhile it seems strange that no one ever thinks to look into Damon’s past and instantly find the Nicholson connection but doing
so would take the picture in another direction.

DiCaprio and Damon are put in the position of facing off against one another, though neither knows it and here the tension, already
palpable, rises to its thunderous, bloody climax.  Neither side is going down without a fight and Scorsese provides multiple scenes
that offer plenty of action along with the moments of anxiety that are emotionally tearing both DiCaprio and Damon apart.  Vera
Farmiga does wonders with the movie’s most clichéd role as the woman torn between the two men while Sheen and Alec Baldwin as a
crazed FBI commander give Nicholson a run for his money in the acting competition.

The picture is set in the present and though cell phones with their differing ring tones play a large part in the plot they’re really just a
nod to the present day culture.  This is classic Scorsese – right down to the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and the other rock songs
on the soundtrack – and the movie could have taken place at any point in the last 40 years.  It’s nice to know that some things –
including movies made by great directors like Scorsese – never change.